In 2025, fire departments serving Auburn responded to 50 fire and hazmat incidents — from cooking fires to gas leaks to a single $15K 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 68% of all calls.
Apr peaks. Oct dips. Watch for the typical fall climb starting in October.
275 incidents 2021–2025. Peak year was 2024. $985K cumulative property loss.
| Year | Incidents | YoY | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2021 | 50 | — | |
| 2022 | 55 | +10.0% | |
| 2023 | 38 | -30.9% | |
| 2024 | 82 | +115.8% | |
| 2025 | 50 | -39.0% |
For the 2 building fires Auburn departments responded to in 2025, here's how they were classified once investigators were finished.
NFIRS Area of Origin (AREA_ORIG) for the 75 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 | Engine area, running gear, wheel area | 11 | 14.7% | |
| 2 | Outside area, other | 10 | 13.3% | |
| 3 | Open area - outside; included are farmland, field | 8 | 10.7% | |
| 4 | Undetermined | 7 | 9.3% | |
| 5 | Cooking area, kitchen | 5 | 6.7% | |
| 6 | Vehicle area, other | 5 | 6.7% | |
| 7 | Structural area, other | 4 | 5.3% | |
| 8 | Storage area, other | 3 | 4.0% | |
| 9 | Equipment or service area, other | 3 | 4.0% | |
| 10 | Highway, parking lot, street: on or near | 3 | 4.0% | |
| 11 | All other areas | 16 | 21.3% |
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 Auburn mix.
| # | Heat source | Count | Share | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Undetermined | 36 | 48.0% | |
| 2 | Arcing | 6 | 8.0% | |
| 3 | Radiated, conducted heat from operating equipment | 4 | 5.3% | |
| 4 | Cigarette lighter | 4 | 5.3% | |
| 5 | Heat source: other | 3 | 4.0% | |
| 6 | Heat from powered equipment, other | 3 | 4.0% | |
| 7 | Spark, ember or flame from operating equipment | 3 | 4.0% | |
| 8 | Heat, spark from friction | 3 | 4.0% | |
| 9 | Hot ember or ash | 3 | 4.0% | |
| 10 | Chemical reaction | 2 | 2.7% | |
| 11 | All other sources | 8 | 10.7% |
Largest single-incident property losses reported by Auburn departments in 2025. These 4 fires alone account for 100% of the city's annual total.
| # | Property loss | Type | Severity | Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | $15,000 | Mobile property (vehicle) fire, other | Significant | Investigated |
| 2 | $5,000 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
| 3 | $3,000 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
| 4 | $2,500 | Chimney or flue fire, confined to chimney or flue | Significant | Investigated |
Per-capita rates let us compare apples to apples. Auburn sits above the national average for incidents per resident.
Top 25 wildfires (1992+) in the FPA-FOD ignitions database, scaled by acres. 2,996 acres burned in this 50-mile radius. Each dot is a fire — bigger dots burned more land.
| Year | Cause | Acres | Distance | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2012 | Arson/incendiarism | 335 | 19.4 mi | |
| 1994 | Recreation and ceremony | 289 | 34.7 mi | |
| 2012 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 257 | 36.4 mi | |
| 1994 | Debris and open burning | 253 | 39.2 mi | |
| 1995 | Arson/incendiarism | 202 | 34.3 mi | |
| 2004 | Natural | 186 | 17.3 mi | |
| 2003 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 178 | 32.5 mi | |
| 2003 | Recreation and ceremony | 155 | 19.6 mi | |
| 2015 | Recreation and ceremony | 97 | 32.4 mi | |
| 2003 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 92 | 32.6 mi | |
| 2012 | Arson/incendiarism | 74 | 43.6 mi | |
| 1994 | Arson/incendiarism | 72 | 43.2 mi |
Top 4 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 Auburn. Useful comparison targets — same state, similar size, different fire profile.
2 departments report to NFIRS for incidents in Auburn.
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.