In 2025, fire departments serving Belding responded to 139 fire and hazmat incidents — from cooking fires to gas leaks to a single $25K 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 60% of all calls.
Mar peaks. Feb dips. Watch for the typical fall climb starting in October.
617 incidents 2021–2025. Peak year was 2025. $1.2M cumulative property loss.
| Year | Incidents | YoY | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2021 | 133 | — | |
| 2022 | 85 | -36.1% | |
| 2023 | 132 | +55.3% | |
| 2024 | 128 | -3.0% | |
| 2025 | 139 | +8.6% |
For the 5 building fires Belding 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 | Engine area, running gear, wheel area | 18 | 19.8% | |
| 2 | Open area - outside; included are farmland, field | 12 | 13.2% | |
| 3 | Outside area, other | 8 | 8.8% | |
| 4 | Cooking area, kitchen | 5 | 5.5% | |
| 5 | Wall surface: exterior | 5 | 5.5% | |
| 6 | Operator/passenger area of transportation equip. | 5 | 5.5% | |
| 7 | Undetermined | 5 | 5.5% | |
| 8 | Chute/container - trash, rubbish, waste | 4 | 4.4% | |
| 9 | Other | 3 | 3.3% | |
| 10 | Laundry area, wash house (laundry) | 3 | 3.3% | |
| 11 | All other areas | 23 | 25.3% |
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 Belding mix.
| # | Heat source | Count | Share | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Undetermined | 20 | 22.0% | |
| 2 | Heat source: other | 12 | 13.2% | |
| 3 | Heat from powered equipment, other | 11 | 12.1% | |
| 4 | Arcing | 11 | 12.1% | |
| 5 | Hot or smoldering object, other | 8 | 8.8% | |
| 6 | Hot ember or ash | 6 | 6.6% | |
| 7 | Flame/torch used for lighting | 4 | 4.4% | |
| 8 | Radiated, conducted heat from operating equipment | 3 | 3.3% | |
| 9 | Match | 3 | 3.3% | |
| 10 | Spark, ember or flame from operating equipment | 2 | 2.2% | |
| 11 | All other sources | 11 | 12.1% |
Largest single-incident property losses reported by Belding departments in 2025. These 8 fires alone account for 100% of the city's annual total.
| # | Property loss | Type | Severity | Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | $25,000 | Passenger vehicle fire | Significant | Investigated |
| 2 | $20,000 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
| 3 | $8,000 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
| 4 | $5,000 | Passenger vehicle fire | Significant | Investigated |
| 5 | $4,000 | Camper or recreational vehicle (RV) fire | Significant | Investigated |
| 6 | $3,000 | Passenger vehicle fire | Significant | Investigated |
| 7 | $1,000 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
| 8 | $1 | Passenger vehicle fire | Significant | Investigated |
Per-capita rates let us compare apples to apples. Belding sits above the national average for incidents per resident.
Top 25 wildfires (1992+) in the FPA-FOD ignitions database, scaled by acres. 2,343 acres burned in this 50-mile radius. Each dot is a fire — bigger dots burned more land.
| Year | Cause | Acres | Distance | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2003 | Arson/incendiarism | 275 | 47.9 mi | |
| 2003 | Debris and open burning | 191 | 14.2 mi | |
| 2003 | Debris and open burning | 162 | 30.4 mi | |
| 1994 | Arson/incendiarism | 150 | 3.7 mi | |
| 1996 | Equipment and vehicle use | 119 | 30.1 mi | |
| 1994 | Recreation and ceremony | 107 | 40.8 mi | |
| 2018 | Arson/incendiarism | 105 | 31.3 mi | |
| 2018 | Arson/incendiarism | 105 | 31.2 mi | |
| 1994 | Debris and open burning | 100 | 18.6 mi | |
| 2003 | Debris and open burning | 96 | 35.3 mi | |
| 2003 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 92 | 41.7 mi | |
| 1993 | Smoking | 90 | 44.9 mi |
Top 2 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 Belding. Useful comparison targets — same state, similar size, different fire profile.
2 departments report to NFIRS for incidents in Belding.
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.