In 2025, fire departments serving Chelsea responded to 115 fire and hazmat incidents — from cooking fires to gas leaks to a single $375K 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 47% of all calls.
Mar peaks. Dec dips. Watch for the typical fall climb starting in October.
443 incidents 2021–2025. Peak year was 2023. $1.6M cumulative property loss.
| Year | Incidents | YoY | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2021 | 68 | — | |
| 2022 | 55 | -19.1% | |
| 2023 | 127 | +130.9% | |
| 2024 | 78 | -38.6% | |
| 2025 | 115 | +47.4% |
For the 16 building fires Chelsea departments responded to in 2025, here's how they were classified once investigators were finished.
NFIRS Area of Origin (AREA_ORIG) for the 71 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 | Open area - outside; included are farmland, field | 10 | 14.1% | |
| 2 | Outside area, other | 9 | 12.7% | |
| 3 | Engine area, running gear, wheel area | 7 | 9.9% | |
| 4 | Wildland, woods | 6 | 8.5% | |
| 5 | Undetermined | 5 | 7.0% | |
| 6 | Vehicle area, other | 4 | 5.6% | |
| 7 | Cooking area, kitchen | 3 | 4.2% | |
| 8 | Attic: vacant, crawl space above top story, cupola | 3 | 4.2% | |
| 9 | Operator/passenger area of transportation equip. | 3 | 4.2% | |
| 10 | Other | 2 | 2.8% | |
| 11 | All other areas | 19 | 26.8% |
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 Chelsea mix.
| # | Heat source | Count | Share | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Undetermined | 24 | 33.8% | |
| 2 | Heat source: other | 8 | 11.3% | |
| 3 | Radiated, conducted heat from operating equipment | 5 | 7.0% | |
| 4 | Hot ember or ash | 5 | 7.0% | |
| 5 | Spark, ember or flame from operating equipment | 4 | 5.6% | |
| 6 | Arcing | 4 | 5.6% | |
| 7 | Hot or smoldering object, other | 3 | 4.2% | |
| 8 | Heat spread from another fire, other | 3 | 4.2% | |
| 9 | Heat from powered equipment, other | 2 | 2.8% | |
| 10 | Fireworks | 2 | 2.8% | |
| 11 | All other sources | 11 | 15.5% |
Largest single-incident property losses reported by Chelsea departments in 2025. These 8 fires alone account for 98% of the city's annual total.
| # | Property loss | Type | Severity | Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | $375,000 | Building fires | Major | Investigated |
| 2 | $50,000 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
| 3 | $50,000 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
| 4 | $30,000 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
| 5 | $15,000 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
| 6 | $6,500 | Passenger vehicle fire | Significant | Investigated |
| 7 | $5,900 | Passenger vehicle fire | Significant | Investigated |
| 8 | $5,000 | Passenger vehicle fire | Significant | Investigated |
Per-capita rates let us compare apples to apples. Chelsea sits above the national average for incidents per resident.
Top 25 wildfires (1992+) in the FPA-FOD ignitions database, scaled by acres. 1,855 acres burned in this 50-mile radius. Each dot is a fire — bigger dots burned more land.
| Year | Cause | Acres | Distance | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2019 | Debris and open burning | 300 | 45.7 mi | |
| 2020 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 143 | 26.0 mi | |
| 1996 | Arson/incendiarism | 142 | 19.8 mi | |
| 2018 | Equipment and vehicle use | 100 | 19.2 mi | |
| 1996 | Debris and open burning | 98 | 9.2 mi | |
| 1996 | Arson/incendiarism | 96 | 11.3 mi | |
| 2019 | Equipment and vehicle use | 80 | 35.3 mi | |
| 1996 | Debris and open burning | 80 | 40.0 mi | |
| 2005 | Debris and open burning | 77 | 28.5 mi | |
| 2003 | Equipment and vehicle use | 70 | 26.8 mi | |
| 2010 | Arson/incendiarism | 69 | 48.2 mi | |
| 1994 | Debris and open burning | 60 | 36.1 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 Chelsea. Useful comparison targets — same state, similar size, different fire profile.
1 departments report to NFIRS for incidents in Chelsea.
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.