In 2025, fire departments serving Dundee responded to 89 fire and hazmat incidents — from cooking fires to gas leaks to a single $200K 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 71% of all calls.
Dec peaks. Aug dips. Watch for the typical fall climb starting in October.
525 incidents 2021–2025. Peak year was 2023. $1.3M cumulative property loss. 1 civilian deaths.
| Year | Incidents | YoY | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2021 | 72 | — | |
| 2022 | 111 | +54.2% | |
| 2023 | 139 | +25.2% | |
| 2024 | 114 | -18.0% | |
| 2025 | 89 | -21.9% |
For the 22 building fires Dundee departments responded to in 2025, here's how they were classified once investigators were finished.
NFIRS Area of Origin (AREA_ORIG) for the 124 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 | Outside area, other | 23 | 18.5% | |
| 2 | Undetermined | 16 | 12.9% | |
| 3 | Vehicle area, other | 13 | 10.5% | |
| 4 | Cooking area, kitchen | 9 | 7.3% | |
| 5 | Engine area, running gear, wheel area | 9 | 7.3% | |
| 6 | Other | 8 | 6.5% | |
| 7 | Open area - outside; included are farmland, field | 8 | 6.5% | |
| 8 | Highway, parking lot, street: on or near | 5 | 4.0% | |
| 9 | Vehicle storage area; garage, carport | 4 | 3.2% | |
| 10 | Wildland, woods | 4 | 3.2% | |
| 11 | All other areas | 25 | 20.2% |
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 Dundee mix.
| # | Heat source | Count | Share | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Undetermined | 65 | 52.4% | |
| 2 | Heat source: other | 12 | 9.7% | |
| 3 | Heat from powered equipment, other | 6 | 4.8% | |
| 4 | Arcing | 6 | 4.8% | |
| 5 | Hot or smoldering object, other | 4 | 3.2% | |
| 6 | Match | 4 | 3.2% | |
| 7 | Cigarette lighter | 4 | 3.2% | |
| 8 | Spark, ember or flame from operating equipment | 3 | 2.4% | |
| 9 | Radiated, conducted heat from operating equipment | 3 | 2.4% | |
| 10 | Heat, spark from friction | 3 | 2.4% | |
| 11 | All other sources | 14 | 11.3% |
Largest single-incident property losses reported by Dundee departments in 2025. These 8 fires alone account for 100% of the city's annual total.
| # | Property loss | Type | Severity | Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | $200,000 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
| 2 | $150,000 | Off-road vehicle or heavy equipment fire | Significant | Investigated |
| 3 | $20,000 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
| 4 | $5,000 | Passenger vehicle fire | Significant | Investigated |
| 5 | $5,000 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
| 6 | $1,200 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
| 7 | $500 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
| 8 | $1 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
Per-capita rates let us compare apples to apples. Dundee sits above the national average for incidents per resident.
Top 25 wildfires (1992+) in the FPA-FOD ignitions database, scaled by acres. 1,491 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 | 22.7 mi | |
| 1996 | Arson/incendiarism | 142 | 49.9 mi | |
| 2018 | Equipment and vehicle use | 100 | 45.3 mi | |
| 1996 | Debris and open burning | 98 | 25.4 mi | |
| 1996 | Arson/incendiarism | 96 | 38.1 mi | |
| 2019 | Equipment and vehicle use | 80 | 7.3 mi | |
| 2005 | Debris and open burning | 77 | 6.9 mi | |
| 2010 | Arson/incendiarism | 69 | 18.0 mi | |
| 2015 | Equipment and vehicle use | 50 | 41.8 mi | |
| 2020 | Debris and open burning | 50 | 46.4 mi | |
| 2010 | Arson/incendiarism | 42 | 24.5 mi | |
| 2019 | Debris and open burning | 40 | 29.6 mi |
Top 2 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 Dundee. Useful comparison targets — same state, similar size, different fire profile.
1 departments report to NFIRS for incidents in Dundee.
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.