In 2025, fire departments serving Cheboygan responded to 307 fire and hazmat incidents — from cooking fires to gas leaks to a single $54K 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 87% of all calls.
Mar peaks. Aug dips. Watch for the typical fall climb starting in October.
823 incidents 2021–2025. Peak year was 2025. $5.0M cumulative property loss. 1 civilian deaths.
| Year | Incidents | YoY | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2021 | 118 | — | |
| 2022 | 150 | +27.1% | |
| 2023 | 100 | -33.3% | |
| 2024 | 148 | +48.0% | |
| 2025 | 307 | +107.4% |
For the 15 building fires Cheboygan departments responded to in 2025, here's how they were classified once investigators were finished.
NFIRS Area of Origin (AREA_ORIG) for the 62 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 | 18 | 29.0% | |
| 2 | Substructure area or space, crawl space | 4 | 6.5% | |
| 3 | Bedroom - < 5 persons; included are jail or prison | 3 | 4.8% | |
| 4 | Vehicle storage area; garage, carport | 3 | 4.8% | |
| 5 | Engine area, running gear, wheel area | 3 | 4.8% | |
| 6 | Cooking area, kitchen | 2 | 3.2% | |
| 7 | Storage room, area, tank, or bin | 2 | 3.2% | |
| 8 | Heating room or area, water heater area | 2 | 3.2% | |
| 9 | Ceiling & floor assembly, crawl space b/t stories | 2 | 3.2% | |
| 10 | Wall surface: exterior | 2 | 3.2% | |
| 11 | All other areas | 21 | 33.9% |
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 Cheboygan mix.
| # | Heat source | Count | Share | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Undetermined | 34 | 54.8% | |
| 2 | Arcing | 8 | 12.9% | |
| 3 | Radiated, conducted heat from operating equipment | 4 | 6.5% | |
| 4 | Hot ember or ash | 4 | 6.5% | |
| 5 | Heat from powered equipment, other | 3 | 4.8% | |
| 6 | Heat source: other | 2 | 3.2% | |
| 7 | Conducted heat from another fire | 2 | 3.2% | |
| 8 | Heat, spark from friction | 1 | 1.6% | |
| 9 | Fireworks | 1 | 1.6% | |
| 10 | Cigarette lighter | 1 | 1.6% | |
| 11 | All other sources | 2 | 3.2% |
Largest single-incident property losses reported by Cheboygan departments in 2025. These 4 fires alone account for 100% of the city's annual total.
| # | Property loss | Type | Severity | Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | $53,500 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
| 2 | $20,000 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
| 3 | $3,000 | Passenger vehicle fire | Significant | Investigated |
| 4 | $3,000 | Passenger vehicle fire | Significant | Investigated |
Per-capita rates let us compare apples to apples. Cheboygan sits above the national average for incidents per resident.
Top 25 wildfires (1992+) in the FPA-FOD ignitions database, scaled by acres. 4,400 acres burned in this 50-mile radius. Each dot is a fire — bigger dots burned more land.
| Year | Cause | Acres | Distance | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1998 | Debris and open burning | 1,832 | 44.8 mi | |
| 1999 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 775 | 47.3 mi | |
| 2005 | Equipment and vehicle use | 209 | 33.4 mi | |
| 2003 | Debris and open burning | 172 | 42.0 mi | |
| 2005 | Debris and open burning | 158 | 48.7 mi | |
| 2016 | Debris and open burning | 154 | 44.9 mi | |
| 2006 | Recreation and ceremony | 108 | 26.2 mi | |
| 2003 | Debris and open burning | 83 | 48.2 mi | |
| 2016 | Debris and open burning | 82 | 42.9 mi | |
| 1993 | Debris and open burning | 81 | 26.6 mi | |
| 2003 | Debris and open burning | 66 | 34.1 mi | |
| 1994 | Debris and open burning | 63 | 39.9 mi |
Top 1 ZIP codes by NFIRS incident count across 2021–2025. Each ZIP has its own fire profile — dive in for neighborhood-level context.
| # | ZIP | 5-yr incidents | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 49721 | 823 |
Six Michigan cities with population within ±25% of Cheboygan. Useful comparison targets — same state, similar size, different fire profile.
2 departments report to NFIRS for incidents in Cheboygan.
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.