In 2025, fire departments serving Eaton Rapids responded to 190 fire and hazmat incidents — from cooking fires to gas leaks to a single $200K 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 59% of all calls.
May peaks. Oct dips. Watch for the typical fall climb starting in October.
856 incidents 2021–2025. Peak year was 2025. $2.2M cumulative property loss.
| Year | Incidents | YoY | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2021 | 179 | — | |
| 2022 | 134 | -25.1% | |
| 2023 | 168 | +25.4% | |
| 2024 | 185 | +10.1% | |
| 2025 | 190 | +2.7% |
For the 20 building fires Eaton Rapids departments responded to in 2025, here's how they were classified once investigators were finished.
NFIRS Area of Origin (AREA_ORIG) for the 136 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 | Open area - outside; included are farmland, field | 19 | 14.0% | |
| 2 | Engine area, running gear, wheel area | 18 | 13.2% | |
| 3 | Outside area, other | 15 | 11.0% | |
| 4 | Undetermined | 12 | 8.8% | |
| 5 | Other | 10 | 7.4% | |
| 6 | Operator/passenger area of transportation equip. | 6 | 4.4% | |
| 7 | Wall surface: exterior | 5 | 3.7% | |
| 8 | Laundry area, wash house (laundry) | 4 | 2.9% | |
| 9 | Vehicle storage area; garage, carport | 4 | 2.9% | |
| 10 | Cooking area, kitchen | 3 | 2.2% | |
| 11 | All other areas | 40 | 29.4% |
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 Eaton Rapids mix.
| # | Heat source | Count | Share | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Undetermined | 35 | 25.7% | |
| 2 | Spark, ember or flame from operating equipment | 14 | 10.3% | |
| 3 | Radiated, conducted heat from operating equipment | 13 | 9.6% | |
| 4 | Hot ember or ash | 13 | 9.6% | |
| 5 | Heat from powered equipment, other | 11 | 8.1% | |
| 6 | Arcing | 8 | 5.9% | |
| 7 | Hot or smoldering object, other | 7 | 5.1% | |
| 8 | Flying brand, ember, spark | 6 | 4.4% | |
| 9 | Heat source: other | 4 | 2.9% | |
| 10 | Cigarette lighter | 4 | 2.9% | |
| 11 | All other sources | 21 | 15.4% |
Largest single-incident property losses reported by Eaton Rapids departments in 2025. These 8 fires alone account for 99% of the city's annual total.
| # | Property loss | Type | Severity | Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | $200,000 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
| 2 | $150,000 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
| 3 | $50,000 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
| 4 | $20,000 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
| 5 | $15,000 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
| 6 | $10,000 | Off-road vehicle or heavy equipment fire | Significant | Investigated |
| 7 | $5,000 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
| 8 | $4,000 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
Per-capita rates let us compare apples to apples. Eaton Rapids sits above the national average for incidents per resident.
Top 25 wildfires (1992+) in the FPA-FOD ignitions database, scaled by acres. 1,892 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 | 44.2 mi | |
| 2020 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 143 | 30.9 mi | |
| 1996 | Arson/incendiarism | 142 | 18.6 mi | |
| 1996 | Equipment and vehicle use | 119 | 31.7 mi | |
| 2018 | Natural | 105 | 21.9 mi | |
| 2018 | Equipment and vehicle use | 100 | 36.6 mi | |
| 1996 | Debris and open burning | 98 | 37.6 mi | |
| 1996 | Arson/incendiarism | 96 | 25.0 mi | |
| 1996 | Debris and open burning | 80 | 27.8 mi | |
| 2003 | Equipment and vehicle use | 70 | 23.6 mi | |
| 2019 | Equipment and vehicle use | 61 | 44.7 mi | |
| 1994 | Debris and open burning | 60 | 30.1 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 Eaton Rapids. Useful comparison targets — same state, similar size, different fire profile.
2 departments report to NFIRS for incidents in Eaton 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.