In 2025, fire departments serving Alpena responded to 175 fire and hazmat incidents — from cooking fires to gas leaks to a single $1.0M building blaze. Here's the full picture.
Power line down lead by count. Building fires lead by dollars. Together the top five categories make up about 58% of all calls.
Mar peaks. Dec dips. Watch for the typical fall climb starting in October.
817 incidents 2021–2025. Peak year was 2021. $5.3M cumulative property loss. 1 civilian deaths.
| Year | Incidents | YoY | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2021 | 188 | — | |
| 2022 | 166 | -11.7% | |
| 2023 | 147 | -11.4% | |
| 2024 | 141 | -4.1% | |
| 2025 | 175 | +24.1% |
For the 15 building fires Alpena departments responded to in 2025, here's how they were classified once investigators were finished.
NFIRS Area of Origin (AREA_ORIG) for the 260 building fires investigators classified across 2021–2025. The room or location where ignition occurred — kitchens, bedrooms, exterior, vehicle areas — tells you where to focus prevention.
| # | Area of origin | Count | Share | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Outside area, other | 46 | 17.7% | |
| 2 | Cooking area, kitchen | 29 | 11.2% | |
| 3 | Engine area, running gear, wheel area | 25 | 9.6% | |
| 4 | Undetermined | 22 | 8.5% | |
| 5 | Other | 12 | 4.6% | |
| 6 | Vehicle storage area; garage, carport | 9 | 3.5% | |
| 7 | Vehicle area, other | 9 | 3.5% | |
| 8 | Bedroom - < 5 persons; included are jail or prison | 8 | 3.1% | |
| 9 | Wall surface: exterior | 8 | 3.1% | |
| 10 | Open area - outside; included are farmland, field | 6 | 2.3% | |
| 11 | All other areas | 86 | 33.1% |
NFIRS Heat Source (HEAT_SOURC) — the physical thing that started it. Spark or ember from operating equipment, an open flame, smoking materials, or hot embers from a fireplace are the leading culprits nationwide. Here's the Alpena mix.
| # | Heat source | Count | Share | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Undetermined | 83 | 31.9% | |
| 2 | Heat source: other | 25 | 9.6% | |
| 3 | Hot or smoldering object, other | 23 | 8.8% | |
| 4 | Radiated, conducted heat from operating equipment | 20 | 7.7% | |
| 5 | Hot ember or ash | 16 | 6.2% | |
| 6 | Flame/torch used for lighting | 16 | 6.2% | |
| 7 | Heat from powered equipment, other | 12 | 4.6% | |
| 8 | Match | 11 | 4.2% | |
| 9 | Arcing | 9 | 3.5% | |
| 10 | Spark, ember or flame from operating equipment | 8 | 3.1% | |
| 11 | All other sources | 37 | 14.2% |
Largest single-incident property losses reported by Alpena departments in 2025. These 8 fires alone account for 97% of the city's annual total.
| # | Property loss | Type | Severity | Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | $1,000,000 | Building fires | Major | Investigated |
| 2 | $250,000 | Building fires | Major | Investigated |
| 3 | $180,000 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
| 4 | $172,000 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
| 5 | $100,000 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
| 6 | $70,000 | Passenger vehicle fire | Significant | Investigated |
| 7 | $70,000 | Mobile property (vehicle) fire, other | Significant | Investigated |
| 8 | $50,000 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
Per-capita rates let us compare apples to apples. Alpena sits above the national average for incidents per resident.
Top 25 wildfires (1992+) in the FPA-FOD ignitions database, scaled by acres. 10,830 acres burned in this 50-mile radius. Each dot is a fire — bigger dots burned more land.
| Year | Cause | Acres | Distance | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | Recreation and ceremony | 5,200 | 46.8 mi | |
| 1999 | Equipment and vehicle use | 1,035 | 43.8 mi | |
| 1999 | Equipment and vehicle use | 840 | 43.8 mi | |
| 2012 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 820 | 47.8 mi | |
| 2003 | Arson/incendiarism | 531 | 45.3 mi | |
| 2015 | Arson/incendiarism | 472 | 31.7 mi | |
| 2010 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 270 | 40.3 mi | |
| 1999 | Recreation and ceremony | 239 | 31.4 mi | |
| 2005 | Equipment and vehicle use | 209 | 42.1 mi | |
| 2003 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 138 | 47.3 mi | |
| 2003 | Equipment and vehicle use | 117 | 21.1 mi | |
| 2006 | Recreation and ceremony | 108 | 37.2 mi |
Top 6 ZIP codes by NFIRS incident count across 2021–2025. Each ZIP has its own fire profile — dive in for neighborhood-level context.
Six Michigan cities with population within ±25% of Alpena. Useful comparison targets — same state, similar size, different fire profile.
5 departments report to NFIRS for incidents in Alpena.
A 30-minute weekend can cut your home's exposure substantially. These four checklists are a good starting point.
Numbers reflect incidents reported by participating fire departments to the National Fire Incident Reporting System (NFIRS) Public Data Release for calendar year 2025. NFIRS is voluntary — about 23,000 of roughly 30,000 US fire departments report — so totals are a strong indicator, not a complete census. Per-capita comparisons use 2023 ACS population estimates. Wildland fire data complements NFIRS with NIFC and USFS perimeters. Active-fire counts come from a dated NIFC snapshot, not a live feed.