In 2025, fire departments serving Bad Axe responded to 62 fire and hazmat incidents — from cooking fires to gas leaks to a single $30K building blaze. Here's the full picture.
Building fires lead by count. Building fires lead by dollars. Together the top five categories make up about 69% of all calls.
Apr peaks. Dec dips. Watch for the typical fall climb starting in October.
313 incidents 2021–2025. Peak year was 2021. $184K cumulative property loss.
| Year | Incidents | YoY | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2021 | 84 | — | |
| 2022 | 72 | -14.3% | |
| 2023 | 38 | -47.2% | |
| 2024 | 57 | +50.0% | |
| 2025 | 62 | +8.8% |
For the 18 building fires Bad Axe departments responded to in 2025, here's how they were classified once investigators were finished.
NFIRS Area of Origin (AREA_ORIG) for the 97 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 | 24 | 24.7% | |
| 2 | Undetermined | 16 | 16.5% | |
| 3 | Engine area, running gear, wheel area | 13 | 13.4% | |
| 4 | Open area - outside; included are farmland, field | 11 | 11.3% | |
| 5 | Cooking area, kitchen | 9 | 9.3% | |
| 6 | Other | 2 | 2.1% | |
| 7 | Common room, den, family room, living room, lounge | 2 | 2.1% | |
| 8 | Storage area, other | 2 | 2.1% | |
| 9 | Operator/passenger area of transportation equip. | 2 | 2.1% | |
| 10 | Sales area, showroom (exclude display window) | 1 | 1.0% | |
| 11 | All other areas | 15 | 15.5% |
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 Bad Axe mix.
| # | Heat source | Count | Share | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Undetermined | 33 | 34.0% | |
| 2 | Hot ember or ash | 10 | 10.3% | |
| 3 | Match | 8 | 8.2% | |
| 4 | Radiated, conducted heat from operating equipment | 7 | 7.2% | |
| 5 | Arcing | 7 | 7.2% | |
| 6 | Heat source: other | 6 | 6.2% | |
| 7 | Hot or smoldering object, other | 4 | 4.1% | |
| 8 | Heat, spark from friction | 3 | 3.1% | |
| 9 | Flame/torch used for lighting | 3 | 3.1% | |
| 10 | Cigarette | 2 | 2.1% | |
| 11 | All other sources | 14 | 14.4% |
Largest single-incident property losses reported by Bad Axe departments in 2025. These 3 fires alone account for 100% of the city's annual total.
| # | Property loss | Type | Severity | Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | $30,000 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
| 2 | $25,000 | Fire, other | Significant | Investigated |
| 3 | $4,000 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
Per-capita rates let us compare apples to apples. Bad Axe sits above the national average for incidents per resident.
Top 25 wildfires (1992+) in the FPA-FOD ignitions database, scaled by acres. 2,564 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 | 37.7 mi | |
| 1994 | Recreation and ceremony | 289 | 49.8 mi | |
| 2012 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 257 | 22.1 mi | |
| 1994 | Debris and open burning | 253 | 43.6 mi | |
| 1995 | Arson/incendiarism | 202 | 47.6 mi | |
| 1998 | Natural | 125 | 43.4 mi | |
| 2003 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 116 | 15.7 mi | |
| 2010 | Debris and open burning | 70 | 17.2 mi | |
| 1998 | Recreation and ceremony | 68 | 41.0 mi | |
| 2004 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 67 | 33.5 mi | |
| 2005 | Equipment and vehicle use | 66 | 9.7 mi | |
| 1994 | Smoking | 65 | 41.3 mi |
Top 5 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 Bad Axe. Useful comparison targets — same state, similar size, different fire profile.
1 departments report to NFIRS for incidents in Bad Axe.
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.