In 2025, fire departments serving Dexter responded to 118 fire and hazmat incidents — from cooking fires to gas leaks to a single $60K 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.
712 incidents 2021–2025. Peak year was 2023. $2.9M cumulative property loss. 1 civilian deaths.
| Year | Incidents | YoY | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2021 | 126 | — | |
| 2022 | 154 | +22.2% | |
| 2023 | 212 | +37.7% | |
| 2024 | 102 | -51.9% | |
| 2025 | 118 | +15.7% |
For the 13 building fires Dexter departments responded to in 2025, here's how they were classified once investigators were finished.
NFIRS Area of Origin (AREA_ORIG) for the 108 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 | Engine area, running gear, wheel area | 30 | 27.8% | |
| 2 | Other | 11 | 10.2% | |
| 3 | Open area - outside; included are farmland, field | 10 | 9.3% | |
| 4 | Undetermined | 9 | 8.3% | |
| 5 | Structural area, other | 6 | 5.6% | |
| 6 | Vehicle area, other | 6 | 5.6% | |
| 7 | Outside area, other | 6 | 5.6% | |
| 8 | Common room, den, family room, living room, lounge | 3 | 2.8% | |
| 9 | Cooking area, kitchen | 3 | 2.8% | |
| 10 | Exterior, exposed surface | 3 | 2.8% | |
| 11 | All other areas | 21 | 19.4% |
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 Dexter mix.
| # | Heat source | Count | Share | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Undetermined | 36 | 33.3% | |
| 2 | Radiated, conducted heat from operating equipment | 17 | 15.7% | |
| 3 | Heat from powered equipment, other | 8 | 7.4% | |
| 4 | Heat source: other | 7 | 6.5% | |
| 5 | Arcing | 7 | 6.5% | |
| 6 | Hot ember or ash | 7 | 6.5% | |
| 7 | Flame/torch used for lighting | 4 | 3.7% | |
| 8 | Radiated heat from another fire | 4 | 3.7% | |
| 9 | Spark, ember or flame from operating equipment | 3 | 2.8% | |
| 10 | Heat from other open flame or smoking materials | 3 | 2.8% | |
| 11 | All other sources | 12 | 11.1% |
Largest single-incident property losses reported by Dexter departments in 2025. These 8 fires alone account for 90% of the city's annual total.
| # | Property loss | Type | Severity | Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | $60,000 | Mobile property (vehicle) fire, other | Significant | Investigated |
| 2 | $50,000 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
| 3 | $50,000 | Passenger vehicle fire | Significant | Investigated |
| 4 | $30,000 | Passenger vehicle fire | Significant | Investigated |
| 5 | $28,000 | Passenger vehicle fire | Significant | Investigated |
| 6 | $26,755 | Passenger vehicle fire | Significant | Investigated |
| 7 | $20,000 | Fires in structures other than in a building | Significant | Investigated |
| 8 | $10,000 | Passenger vehicle fire | Significant | Investigated |
Per-capita rates let us compare apples to apples. Dexter sits above the national average for incidents per resident.
Top 25 wildfires (1992+) in the FPA-FOD ignitions database, scaled by acres. 1,856 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 | 40.2 mi | |
| 2020 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 143 | 26.8 mi | |
| 1996 | Arson/incendiarism | 142 | 24.5 mi | |
| 2018 | Equipment and vehicle use | 100 | 17.8 mi | |
| 1996 | Debris and open burning | 98 | 13.8 mi | |
| 1996 | Arson/incendiarism | 96 | 18.4 mi | |
| 2019 | Equipment and vehicle use | 80 | 31.6 mi | |
| 1996 | Debris and open burning | 80 | 42.3 mi | |
| 2005 | Debris and open burning | 77 | 24.5 mi | |
| 2003 | Equipment and vehicle use | 70 | 29.4 mi | |
| 2010 | Arson/incendiarism | 69 | 45.6 mi | |
| 1994 | Debris and open burning | 60 | 37.6 mi |
Top 5 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 Dexter. Useful comparison targets — same state, similar size, different fire profile.
1 departments report to NFIRS for incidents in Dexter.
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.