In 2025, fire departments serving East Grand Rapids responded to 43 fire and hazmat incidents — from cooking fires to gas leaks to a single $25K 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 77% of all calls.
Aug peaks. Feb dips. Watch for the typical fall climb starting in October.
178 incidents 2021–2025. Peak year was 2021. $44K cumulative property loss.
| Year | Incidents | YoY | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2021 | 46 | — | |
| 2022 | 37 | -19.6% | |
| 2023 | 25 | -32.4% | |
| 2024 | 27 | +8.0% | |
| 2025 | 43 | +59.3% |
For the 4 building fires East Grand Rapids departments responded to in 2025, here's how they were classified once investigators were finished.
NFIRS Area of Origin (AREA_ORIG) for the 24 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 | Cooking area, kitchen | 3 | 12.5% | |
| 2 | Outside area, other | 3 | 12.5% | |
| 3 | Other | 2 | 8.3% | |
| 4 | Corridor, mall | 1 | 4.2% | |
| 5 | Common room, den, family room, living room, lounge | 1 | 4.2% | |
| 6 | Function area, other | 1 | 4.2% | |
| 7 | Bedroom - < 5 persons; included are jail or prison | 1 | 4.2% | |
| 8 | Bathroom, checkroom, lavatory, locker room | 1 | 4.2% | |
| 9 | Office | 1 | 4.2% | |
| 10 | Storage: supplies or tools; dead storage | 1 | 4.2% | |
| 11 | All other areas | 9 | 37.5% |
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 East Grand Rapids mix.
| # | Heat source | Count | Share | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Hot or smoldering object, other | 6 | 25.0% | |
| 2 | Arcing | 4 | 16.7% | |
| 3 | Undetermined | 4 | 16.7% | |
| 4 | Heat from powered equipment, other | 3 | 12.5% | |
| 5 | Fireworks | 3 | 12.5% | |
| 6 | Heat source: other | 2 | 8.3% | |
| 7 | Spark, ember or flame from operating equipment | 1 | 4.2% | |
| 8 | Radiated, conducted heat from operating equipment | 1 | 4.2% |
Largest single-incident property losses reported by East Grand Rapids departments in 2025. These 2 fires alone account for 100% of the city's annual total.
| # | Property loss | Type | Severity | Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | $25,000 | Fire, other | Significant | Investigated |
| 2 | $7,000 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
Per-capita rates let us compare apples to apples. East Grand Rapids sits below the national average for incidents per resident.
Top 25 wildfires (1992+) in the FPA-FOD ignitions database, scaled by acres. 2,652 acres burned in this 50-mile radius. Each dot is a fire — bigger dots burned more land.
| Year | Cause | Acres | Distance | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2003 | Arson/incendiarism | 275 | 37.5 mi | |
| 2003 | Debris and open burning | 191 | 35.0 mi | |
| 2010 | Power generation/transmission/distribution | 175 | 36.6 mi | |
| 2003 | Debris and open burning | 162 | 31.5 mi | |
| 1994 | Arson/incendiarism | 151 | 44.8 mi | |
| 1994 | Arson/incendiarism | 150 | 18.0 mi | |
| 1996 | Equipment and vehicle use | 119 | 27.1 mi | |
| 1994 | Recreation and ceremony | 107 | 34.1 mi | |
| 2003 | Arson/incendiarism | 106 | 46.8 mi | |
| 2018 | Arson/incendiarism | 105 | 31.4 mi | |
| 2018 | Arson/incendiarism | 105 | 31.3 mi | |
| 1994 | Debris and open burning | 100 | 32.2 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 East Grand Rapids. Useful comparison targets — same state, similar size, different fire profile.
1 departments report to NFIRS for incidents in East Grand Rapids.
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.