In 2025, fire departments serving Burt responded to 41 fire and hazmat incidents — from cooking fires to gas leaks to a single $100K 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 76% of all calls.
Mar peaks. Feb dips. Watch for the typical fall climb starting in October.
205 incidents 2021–2025. Peak year was 2021. $358K cumulative property loss.
| Year | Incidents | YoY | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2021 | 57 | — | |
| 2022 | 30 | -47.4% | |
| 2023 | 39 | +30.0% | |
| 2024 | 38 | -2.6% | |
| 2025 | 41 | +7.9% |
For the 6 building fires Burt departments responded to in 2025, here's how they were classified once investigators were finished.
NFIRS Area of Origin (AREA_ORIG) for the 34 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 | 7 | 20.6% | |
| 2 | Open area - outside; included are farmland, field | 7 | 20.6% | |
| 3 | Vehicle area, other | 5 | 14.7% | |
| 4 | Cooking area, kitchen | 2 | 5.9% | |
| 5 | Wildland, woods | 2 | 5.9% | |
| 6 | Other | 1 | 2.9% | |
| 7 | Storage area, other | 1 | 2.9% | |
| 8 | Storage: supplies or tools; dead storage | 1 | 2.9% | |
| 9 | Heating room or area, water heater area | 1 | 2.9% | |
| 10 | Attic: vacant, crawl space above top story, cupola | 1 | 2.9% | |
| 11 | All other areas | 6 | 17.6% |
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 Burt mix.
| # | Heat source | Count | Share | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Arcing | 8 | 23.5% | |
| 2 | Undetermined | 7 | 20.6% | |
| 3 | Match | 6 | 17.6% | |
| 4 | Hot or smoldering object, other | 2 | 5.9% | |
| 5 | Cigarette lighter | 2 | 5.9% | |
| 6 | Heat from powered equipment, other | 1 | 2.9% | |
| 7 | Spark, ember or flame from operating equipment | 1 | 2.9% | |
| 8 | Radiated, conducted heat from operating equipment | 1 | 2.9% | |
| 9 | Heat, spark from friction | 1 | 2.9% | |
| 10 | Hot ember or ash | 1 | 2.9% | |
| 11 | All other sources | 4 | 11.8% |
Largest single-incident property losses reported by Burt departments in 2025. These 3 fires alone account for 100% of the city's annual total.
| # | Property loss | Type | Severity | Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | $100,000 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
| 2 | $80,000 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
| 3 | $500 | Off-road vehicle or heavy equipment fire | Significant | Investigated |
Per-capita rates let us compare apples to apples. Burt sits above the national average for incidents per resident.
Top 25 wildfires (1992+) in the FPA-FOD ignitions database, scaled by acres. 2,281 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 | 26.3 mi | |
| 2012 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 257 | 48.8 mi | |
| 2004 | Natural | 186 | 43.7 mi | |
| 2003 | Recreation and ceremony | 155 | 42.9 mi | |
| 2020 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 143 | 39.2 mi | |
| 2018 | Equipment and vehicle use | 100 | 45.0 mi | |
| 2003 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 92 | 47.5 mi | |
| 1996 | Debris and open burning | 80 | 35.2 mi | |
| 2003 | Equipment and vehicle use | 70 | 43.0 mi | |
| 2010 | Debris and open burning | 70 | 43.2 mi | |
| 2004 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 67 | 30.3 mi | |
| 2012 | Smoking | 64 | 36.0 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 Burt. Useful comparison targets — same state, similar size, different fire profile.
1 departments report to NFIRS for incidents in Burt.
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.