In 2025, fire departments serving East Tawas responded to 42 fire and hazmat incidents — from cooking fires to gas leaks to a single $750K 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 81% of all calls.
Jul peaks. May dips. Watch for the typical fall climb starting in October.
236 incidents 2021–2025. Peak year was 2022. $2.1M cumulative property loss. 1 civilian deaths.
| Year | Incidents | YoY | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2021 | 36 | — | |
| 2022 | 66 | +83.3% | |
| 2023 | 36 | -45.5% | |
| 2024 | 56 | +55.6% | |
| 2025 | 42 | -25.0% |
For the 9 building fires East Tawas departments responded to in 2025, here's how they were classified once investigators were finished.
NFIRS Area of Origin (AREA_ORIG) for the 68 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 | Wildland, woods | 12 | 17.6% | |
| 2 | Undetermined | 9 | 13.2% | |
| 3 | Cooking area, kitchen | 5 | 7.4% | |
| 4 | Vehicle storage area; garage, carport | 4 | 5.9% | |
| 5 | Laundry area, wash house (laundry) | 3 | 4.4% | |
| 6 | Attic: vacant, crawl space above top story, cupola | 3 | 4.4% | |
| 7 | Engine area, running gear, wheel area | 3 | 4.4% | |
| 8 | Outside area, other | 3 | 4.4% | |
| 9 | Highway, parking lot, street: on or near | 3 | 4.4% | |
| 10 | Common room, den, family room, living room, lounge | 2 | 2.9% | |
| 11 | All other areas | 21 | 30.9% |
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 Tawas mix.
| # | Heat source | Count | Share | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Undetermined | 24 | 35.3% | |
| 2 | Arcing | 9 | 13.2% | |
| 3 | Hot ember or ash | 5 | 7.4% | |
| 4 | Spark, ember or flame from operating equipment | 4 | 5.9% | |
| 5 | Radiated, conducted heat from operating equipment | 4 | 5.9% | |
| 6 | Hot or smoldering object, other | 4 | 5.9% | |
| 7 | Heat from powered equipment, other | 3 | 4.4% | |
| 8 | Flying brand, ember, spark | 3 | 4.4% | |
| 9 | Heat from other open flame or smoking materials | 2 | 2.9% | |
| 10 | Heat from direct flame, convection currents | 2 | 2.9% | |
| 11 | All other sources | 8 | 11.8% |
Largest single-incident property losses reported by East Tawas departments in 2025. These 8 fires alone account for 100% of the city's annual total.
| # | Property loss | Type | Severity | Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | $750,000 | Water vehicle fire | Major | Investigated |
| 2 | $300,000 | Building fires | Major | Investigated |
| 3 | $110,000 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
| 4 | $70,000 | Mobile property (vehicle) fire, other | Significant | Investigated |
| 5 | $20,000 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
| 6 | $10,000 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
| 7 | $10,000 | Fire, other | Significant | Investigated |
| 8 | $8,500 | Passenger vehicle fire | Significant | Investigated |
Per-capita rates let us compare apples to apples. East Tawas sits above the national average for incidents per resident.
Top 25 wildfires (1992+) in the FPA-FOD ignitions database, scaled by acres. 29,654 acres burned in this 50-mile radius. Each dot is a fire — bigger dots burned more land.
| Year | Cause | Acres | Distance | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2010 | Debris and open burning | 8,586 | 48.5 mi | |
| 2006 | Debris and open burning | 5,818 | 38.0 mi | |
| 2000 | Recreation and ceremony | 5,200 | 31.2 mi | |
| 1998 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 1,238 | 44.1 mi | |
| 1999 | Equipment and vehicle use | 1,035 | 36.3 mi | |
| 1999 | Equipment and vehicle use | 840 | 36.3 mi | |
| 2012 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 820 | 36.0 mi | |
| 1995 | Arson/incendiarism | 778 | 42.2 mi | |
| 1992 | Natural | 687 | 43.4 mi | |
| 2003 | Arson/incendiarism | 531 | 10.2 mi | |
| 2015 | Arson/incendiarism | 472 | 25.5 mi | |
| 2004 | Power generation/transmission/distribution | 448 | 46.5 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 East Tawas. Useful comparison targets — same state, similar size, different fire profile.
1 departments report to NFIRS for incidents in East Tawas.
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.