In 2025, fire departments serving Bangor responded to 88 fire and hazmat incidents — from cooking fires to gas leaks to a single $100K 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 72% of all calls.
Apr peaks. Nov dips. Watch for the typical fall climb starting in October.
375 incidents 2021–2025. Peak year was 2021. $787K cumulative property loss. 2 civilian deaths.
| Year | Incidents | YoY | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2021 | 100 | — | |
| 2022 | 55 | -45.0% | |
| 2023 | 64 | +16.4% | |
| 2024 | 68 | +6.2% | |
| 2025 | 88 | +29.4% |
For the 25 building fires Bangor departments responded to in 2025, here's how they were classified once investigators were finished.
NFIRS Area of Origin (AREA_ORIG) for the 91 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 | Undetermined | 26 | 28.6% | |
| 2 | Cooking area, kitchen | 8 | 8.8% | |
| 3 | Outside area, other | 8 | 8.8% | |
| 4 | Other | 7 | 7.7% | |
| 5 | Engine area, running gear, wheel area | 5 | 5.5% | |
| 6 | Bedroom - < 5 persons; included are jail or prison | 4 | 4.4% | |
| 7 | Function area, other | 3 | 3.3% | |
| 8 | Laundry area, wash house (laundry) | 3 | 3.3% | |
| 9 | Open area - outside; included are farmland, field | 3 | 3.3% | |
| 10 | Wildland, woods | 3 | 3.3% | |
| 11 | All other areas | 21 | 23.1% |
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 Bangor mix.
| # | Heat source | Count | Share | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Undetermined | 49 | 53.8% | |
| 2 | Hot ember or ash | 9 | 9.9% | |
| 3 | Heat source: other | 7 | 7.7% | |
| 4 | Heat from powered equipment, other | 4 | 4.4% | |
| 5 | Arcing | 4 | 4.4% | |
| 6 | Cigarette lighter | 3 | 3.3% | |
| 7 | Radiated, conducted heat from operating equipment | 2 | 2.2% | |
| 8 | Cigarette | 2 | 2.2% | |
| 9 | Heat spread from another fire, other | 2 | 2.2% | |
| 10 | Heat from direct flame, convection currents | 2 | 2.2% | |
| 11 | All other sources | 7 | 7.7% |
Largest single-incident property losses reported by Bangor departments in 2025. These 8 fires alone account for 100% of the city's annual total.
| # | Property loss | Type | Severity | Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | $100,000 | Fire in mobile home used as fixed residence | Significant | Investigated |
| 2 | $80,000 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
| 3 | $80,000 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
| 4 | $55,000 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
| 5 | $20,000 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
| 6 | $10,000 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
| 7 | $10,000 | Fires in structures other than in a building | Significant | Investigated |
| 8 | $2,000 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
Per-capita rates let us compare apples to apples. Bangor sits above the national average for incidents per resident.
Top 25 wildfires (1992+) in the FPA-FOD ignitions database, scaled by acres. 951 acres burned in this 50-mile radius. Each dot is a fire — bigger dots burned more land.
| Year | Cause | Acres | Distance | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1993 | Smoking | 90 | 26.6 mi | |
| 1995 | Smoking | 71 | 22.7 mi | |
| 2011 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 66 | 16.4 mi | |
| 2013 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 52 | 42.0 mi | |
| 2019 | Debris and open burning | 50 | 17.3 mi | |
| 1996 | Arson/incendiarism | 42 | 18.8 mi | |
| 2003 | Smoking | 41 | 23.0 mi | |
| 2019 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 40 | 18.0 mi | |
| 1995 | Arson/incendiarism | 40 | 25.2 mi | |
| 2018 | Fireworks | 40 | 41.3 mi | |
| 2016 | Equipment and vehicle use | 39 | 43.4 mi | |
| 1996 | Debris and open burning | 38 | 49.8 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 Bangor. Useful comparison targets — same state, similar size, different fire profile.
1 departments report to NFIRS for incidents in Bangor.
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.