In 2025, fire departments serving DeWitt responded to 57 fire and hazmat incidents — from cooking fires to gas leaks to a single $175K 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 75% of all calls.
Jan peaks. Oct dips. Watch for the typical fall climb starting in October.
448 incidents 2021–2025. Peak year was 2023. $1.9M cumulative property loss.
| Year | Incidents | YoY | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2021 | 54 | — | |
| 2022 | 110 | +103.7% | |
| 2023 | 118 | +7.3% | |
| 2024 | 109 | -7.6% | |
| 2025 | 57 | -47.7% |
For the 21 building fires DeWitt departments responded to in 2025, here's how they were classified once investigators were finished.
NFIRS Area of Origin (AREA_ORIG) for the 96 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 | 17 | 17.7% | |
| 2 | Engine area, running gear, wheel area | 16 | 16.7% | |
| 3 | Open area - outside; included are farmland, field | 8 | 8.3% | |
| 4 | Cooking area, kitchen | 6 | 6.2% | |
| 5 | Highway, parking lot, street: on or near | 5 | 5.2% | |
| 6 | Bedroom - < 5 persons; included are jail or prison | 4 | 4.2% | |
| 7 | Vehicle storage area; garage, carport | 4 | 4.2% | |
| 8 | Cargo/trunk area - all vehicles | 3 | 3.1% | |
| 9 | Outside area, other | 3 | 3.1% | |
| 10 | Other | 2 | 2.1% | |
| 11 | All other areas | 28 | 29.2% |
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 DeWitt mix.
| # | Heat source | Count | Share | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Undetermined | 41 | 42.7% | |
| 2 | Radiated, conducted heat from operating equipment | 19 | 19.8% | |
| 3 | Arcing | 7 | 7.3% | |
| 4 | Heat, spark from friction | 5 | 5.2% | |
| 5 | Heat source: other | 4 | 4.2% | |
| 6 | Heat from powered equipment, other | 4 | 4.2% | |
| 7 | Hot ember or ash | 4 | 4.2% | |
| 8 | Spark, ember or flame from operating equipment | 2 | 2.1% | |
| 9 | Hot or smoldering object, other | 2 | 2.1% | |
| 10 | Fireworks | 2 | 2.1% | |
| 11 | All other sources | 6 | 6.2% |
Largest single-incident property losses reported by DeWitt departments in 2025. These 4 fires alone account for 100% of the city's annual total.
| # | Property loss | Type | Severity | Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | $175,000 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
| 2 | $10,000 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
| 3 | $4,000 | Passenger vehicle fire | Significant | Investigated |
| 4 | $200 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
Per-capita rates let us compare apples to apples. DeWitt sits above the national average for incidents per resident.
Top 25 wildfires (1992+) in the FPA-FOD ignitions database, scaled by acres. 2,003 acres burned in this 50-mile radius. Each dot is a fire — bigger dots burned more land.
| Year | Cause | Acres | Distance | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2003 | Debris and open burning | 191 | 26.8 mi | |
| 1994 | Arson/incendiarism | 150 | 40.5 mi | |
| 2020 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 143 | 26.5 mi | |
| 1996 | Arson/incendiarism | 142 | 26.3 mi | |
| 1996 | Equipment and vehicle use | 119 | 35.9 mi | |
| 2018 | Natural | 105 | 41.2 mi | |
| 2018 | Equipment and vehicle use | 100 | 36.5 mi | |
| 1996 | Arson/incendiarism | 96 | 39.9 mi | |
| 1996 | Debris and open burning | 80 | 11.7 mi | |
| 2003 | Equipment and vehicle use | 70 | 20.7 mi | |
| 1994 | Arson/incendiarism | 70 | 47.6 mi | |
| 2019 | Equipment and vehicle use | 61 | 21.8 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 | 48820 | 448 |
Six Michigan cities with population within ±25% of DeWitt. Useful comparison targets — same state, similar size, different fire profile.
2 departments report to NFIRS for incidents in DeWitt.
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.