In 2025, fire departments serving Berrien Springs responded to 45 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 62% of all calls.
May peaks. Sep dips. Watch for the typical fall climb starting in October.
297 incidents 2021–2025. Peak year was 2021. $836K cumulative property loss. 1 civilian deaths.
| Year | Incidents | YoY | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2021 | 94 | — | |
| 2022 | 58 | -38.3% | |
| 2023 | 50 | -13.8% | |
| 2024 | 50 | +0.0% | |
| 2025 | 45 | -10.0% |
For the 10 building fires Berrien Springs departments responded to in 2025, here's how they were classified once investigators were finished.
NFIRS Area of Origin (AREA_ORIG) for the 94 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 | 22 | 23.4% | |
| 2 | Cooking area, kitchen | 10 | 10.6% | |
| 3 | Engine area, running gear, wheel area | 10 | 10.6% | |
| 4 | Outside area, other | 9 | 9.6% | |
| 5 | Open area - outside; included are farmland, field | 9 | 9.6% | |
| 6 | Other | 4 | 4.3% | |
| 7 | Chute/container - trash, rubbish, waste | 4 | 4.3% | |
| 8 | Vehicle storage area; garage, carport | 3 | 3.2% | |
| 9 | Highway, parking lot, street: on or near | 3 | 3.2% | |
| 10 | Heating room or area, water heater area | 2 | 2.1% | |
| 11 | All other areas | 18 | 19.1% |
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 Berrien Springs mix.
| # | Heat source | Count | Share | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Undetermined | 50 | 53.2% | |
| 2 | Radiated, conducted heat from operating equipment | 8 | 8.5% | |
| 3 | Hot ember or ash | 6 | 6.4% | |
| 4 | Spark, ember or flame from operating equipment | 3 | 3.2% | |
| 5 | Heat from other open flame or smoking materials | 3 | 3.2% | |
| 6 | Radiated heat from another fire | 3 | 3.2% | |
| 7 | Flying brand, ember, spark | 3 | 3.2% | |
| 8 | Heat source: other | 2 | 2.1% | |
| 9 | Heat from powered equipment, other | 2 | 2.1% | |
| 10 | Molten, hot material | 2 | 2.1% | |
| 11 | All other sources | 12 | 12.8% |
Largest single-incident property losses reported by Berrien Springs departments in 2025. These 5 fires alone account for 100% of the city's annual total.
| # | Property loss | Type | Severity | Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | $100,000 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
| 2 | $20,000 | Fire, other | Significant | Investigated |
| 3 | $20,000 | Passenger vehicle fire | Significant | Investigated |
| 4 | $4,000 | Passenger vehicle fire | Significant | Investigated |
| 5 | $500 | Passenger vehicle fire | Significant | Investigated |
Per-capita rates let us compare apples to apples. Berrien Springs sits above the national average for incidents per resident.
Top 25 wildfires (1992+) in the FPA-FOD ignitions database, scaled by acres. 596 acres burned in this 50-mile radius. Each dot is a fire — bigger dots burned more land.
| Year | Cause | Acres | Distance | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2011 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 66 | 44.1 mi | |
| 2019 | Debris and open burning | 50 | 43.7 mi | |
| 1992 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 47 | 41.5 mi | |
| 1996 | Arson/incendiarism | 42 | 46.4 mi | |
| 2019 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 40 | 45.3 mi | |
| 1995 | Railroad operations and maintenance | 30 | 45.7 mi | |
| 2014 | Debris and open burning | 27 | 41.2 mi | |
| 2000 | Arson/incendiarism | 25 | 40.5 mi | |
| 2006 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 25 | 42.4 mi | |
| 1996 | Arson/incendiarism | 22 | 46.0 mi | |
| 2003 | Debris and open burning | 22 | 42.7 mi | |
| 2017 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 21 | 45.7 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 Berrien Springs. Useful comparison targets — same state, similar size, different fire profile.
1 departments report to NFIRS for incidents in Berrien Springs.
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.