In 2025, fire departments serving Byron responded to 41 fire and hazmat incidents — from cooking fires to gas leaks to a single $380K 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 81% of all calls.
Mar peaks. Aug dips. Watch for the typical fall climb starting in October.
207 incidents 2021–2025. Peak year was 2023. $776K cumulative property loss.
| Year | Incidents | YoY | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2021 | 37 | — | |
| 2022 | 34 | -8.1% | |
| 2023 | 53 | +55.9% | |
| 2024 | 42 | -20.8% | |
| 2025 | 41 | -2.4% |
For the 20 building fires Byron departments responded to in 2025, here's how they were classified once investigators were finished.
NFIRS Area of Origin (AREA_ORIG) for the 42 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 | 9 | 21.4% | |
| 2 | Engine area, running gear, wheel area | 3 | 7.1% | |
| 3 | Open area - outside; included are farmland, field | 3 | 7.1% | |
| 4 | Vehicle storage area; garage, carport | 2 | 4.8% | |
| 5 | Structural area, other | 2 | 4.8% | |
| 6 | Wall surface: exterior | 2 | 4.8% | |
| 7 | Vehicle area, other | 2 | 4.8% | |
| 8 | Exterior, exposed surface | 2 | 4.8% | |
| 9 | Other | 1 | 2.4% | |
| 10 | Egress/exit, other | 1 | 2.4% | |
| 11 | All other areas | 15 | 35.7% |
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 Byron mix.
| # | Heat source | Count | Share | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Undetermined | 19 | 45.2% | |
| 2 | Arcing | 3 | 7.1% | |
| 3 | Hot ember or ash | 3 | 7.1% | |
| 4 | Radiated, conducted heat from operating equipment | 2 | 4.8% | |
| 5 | Heat from other open flame or smoking materials | 2 | 4.8% | |
| 6 | Heat spread from another fire, other | 2 | 4.8% | |
| 7 | Heat from direct flame, convection currents | 2 | 4.8% | |
| 8 | Heat source: other | 1 | 2.4% | |
| 9 | Heat from powered equipment, other | 1 | 2.4% | |
| 10 | Hot or smoldering object, other | 1 | 2.4% | |
| 11 | All other sources | 6 | 14.3% |
Largest single-incident property losses reported by Byron departments in 2025. These 8 fires alone account for 100% of the city's annual total.
| # | Property loss | Type | Severity | Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | $380,000 | Building fires | Major | Investigated |
| 2 | $25,000 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
| 3 | $20,000 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
| 4 | $10,000 | Fire, other | Significant | Investigated |
| 5 | $2,000 | Chimney or flue fire, confined to chimney or flue | Significant | Investigated |
| 6 | $1,500 | Passenger vehicle fire | Significant | Investigated |
| 7 | $500 | Passenger vehicle fire | Significant | Investigated |
| 8 | $350 | Brush, or brush and grass mixture fire | Significant | Investigated |
Per-capita rates let us compare apples to apples. Byron sits above the national average for incidents per resident.
Top 25 wildfires (1992+) in the FPA-FOD ignitions database, scaled by acres. 1,551 acres burned in this 50-mile radius. Each dot is a fire — bigger dots burned more land.
| Year | Cause | Acres | Distance | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2020 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 143 | 12.1 mi | |
| 1996 | Arson/incendiarism | 142 | 27.2 mi | |
| 2018 | Equipment and vehicle use | 100 | 16.5 mi | |
| 1996 | Debris and open burning | 98 | 44.6 mi | |
| 1996 | Arson/incendiarism | 96 | 38.3 mi | |
| 1996 | Debris and open burning | 80 | 20.2 mi | |
| 2003 | Equipment and vehicle use | 70 | 18.5 mi | |
| 2012 | Smoking | 64 | 42.6 mi | |
| 2019 | Equipment and vehicle use | 61 | 37.7 mi | |
| 1994 | Debris and open burning | 60 | 14.3 mi | |
| 2017 | Power generation/transmission/distribution | 51 | 12.0 mi | |
| 2015 | Equipment and vehicle use | 50 | 24.3 mi |
Top 4 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 Byron. Useful comparison targets — same state, similar size, different fire profile.
1 departments report to NFIRS for incidents in Byron.
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.