In 2025, fire departments serving Camden responded to 24 fire and hazmat incidents — from cooking fires to gas leaks to a single $1K 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 79% of all calls.
Mar peaks. May dips. Watch for the typical fall climb starting in October.
108 incidents 2021–2025. Peak year was 2022. $456K cumulative property loss.
| Year | Incidents | YoY | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2021* | 11 | — | |
| 2022 | 34 | — | |
| 2023 | 22 | -35.3% | |
| 2024 | 17 | -22.7% | |
| 2025 | 24 | +41.2% |
* Well below Camden's usual volume. That almost always means one or more departments didn't submit a full year to NFIRS, not that fires dropped, so no year-over-year change is shown for it.
For the 7 building fires Camden departments responded to in 2025, here's how they were classified once investigators were finished.
NFIRS Area of Origin (AREA_ORIG) for the 21 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 | 11 | 52.4% | |
| 2 | Open area - outside; included are farmland, field | 2 | 9.5% | |
| 3 | Entrance way, lobby | 1 | 4.8% | |
| 4 | Vehicle storage area; garage, carport | 1 | 4.8% | |
| 5 | Duct: hvac, cable, exhaust, heating, or AC | 1 | 4.8% | |
| 6 | Wall surface: exterior | 1 | 4.8% | |
| 7 | Vehicle area, other | 1 | 4.8% | |
| 8 | Fuel tank, fuel line | 1 | 4.8% | |
| 9 | Outside area, other | 1 | 4.8% | |
| 10 | Vacant structural area | 1 | 4.8% |
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 Camden mix.
| # | Heat source | Count | Share | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Undetermined | 11 | 52.4% | |
| 2 | Hot ember or ash | 4 | 19.0% | |
| 3 | Hot or smoldering object, other | 2 | 9.5% | |
| 4 | Heat source: other | 1 | 4.8% | |
| 5 | Spark, ember or flame from operating equipment | 1 | 4.8% | |
| 6 | Cigarette lighter | 1 | 4.8% | |
| 7 | Flame/torch used for lighting | 1 | 4.8% |
Largest single-incident property losses reported by Camden departments in 2025. These 2 fires alone account for 100% of the city's annual total.
| # | Property loss | Type | Severity | Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | $1,000 | Grass fire | Significant | Investigated |
| 2 | $800 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
Per-capita rates let us compare apples to apples. Camden sits above the national average for incidents per resident.
Top 25 wildfires (1992+) in the FPA-FOD ignitions database, scaled by acres. 1,010 acres burned in this 50-mile radius. Each dot is a fire — bigger dots burned more land.
| Year | Cause | Acres | Distance | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2014 | Debris and open burning | 154 | 15.5 mi | |
| 2018 | Natural | 105 | 42.1 mi | |
| 1996 | Debris and open burning | 98 | 46.3 mi | |
| 1996 | Arson/incendiarism | 96 | 46.8 mi | |
| 2019 | Debris and open burning | 58 | 48.9 mi | |
| 2019 | Debris and open burning | 40 | 28.5 mi | |
| 2018 | Fireworks | 40 | 46.0 mi | |
| 2018 | Equipment and vehicle use | 40 | 43.0 mi | |
| 2019 | Equipment and vehicle use | 40 | 47.5 mi | |
| 1996 | Arson/incendiarism | 36 | 46.8 mi | |
| 2002 | Recreation and ceremony | 35 | 29.7 mi | |
| 2019 | Equipment and vehicle use | 30 | 43.6 mi |
Top 3 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 Camden. Useful comparison targets — same state, similar size, different fire profile.
1 departments report to NFIRS for incidents in Camden.
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.