In 2025, fire departments serving Ecorse responded to 82 fire and hazmat incidents — from cooking fires to gas leaks to a single $817K 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.
Apr peaks. Dec dips. Watch for the typical fall climb starting in October.
535 incidents 2021–2025. Peak year was 2023. $4.3M cumulative property loss. 1 civilian deaths.
| Year | Incidents | YoY | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2021 | 105 | — | |
| 2022 | 115 | +9.5% | |
| 2023 | 150 | +30.4% | |
| 2024 | 83 | -44.7% | |
| 2025 | 82 | -1.2% |
For the 25 building fires Ecorse departments responded to in 2025, here's how they were classified once investigators were finished.
NFIRS Area of Origin (AREA_ORIG) for the 111 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 | Undetermined | 17 | 15.3% | |
| 2 | Other | 11 | 9.9% | |
| 3 | Cooking area, kitchen | 7 | 6.3% | |
| 4 | Bedroom - < 5 persons; included are jail or prison | 6 | 5.4% | |
| 5 | Engine area, running gear, wheel area | 6 | 5.4% | |
| 6 | Outside area, other | 6 | 5.4% | |
| 7 | Function area, other | 5 | 4.5% | |
| 8 | Laundry area, wash house (laundry) | 4 | 3.6% | |
| 9 | Vehicle storage area; garage, carport | 4 | 3.6% | |
| 10 | Wall surface: exterior | 4 | 3.6% | |
| 11 | All other areas | 41 | 36.9% |
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 Ecorse mix.
| # | Heat source | Count | Share | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Undetermined | 53 | 47.7% | |
| 2 | Hot or smoldering object, other | 11 | 9.9% | |
| 3 | Heat from powered equipment, other | 9 | 8.1% | |
| 4 | Heat source: other | 8 | 7.2% | |
| 5 | Radiated, conducted heat from operating equipment | 6 | 5.4% | |
| 6 | Hot ember or ash | 6 | 5.4% | |
| 7 | Arcing | 5 | 4.5% | |
| 8 | Heat from other open flame or smoking materials | 3 | 2.7% | |
| 9 | Cigarette lighter | 2 | 1.8% | |
| 10 | Radiated heat from another fire | 2 | 1.8% | |
| 11 | All other sources | 6 | 5.4% |
Largest single-incident property losses reported by Ecorse departments in 2025. These 8 fires alone account for 95% of the city's annual total.
| # | Property loss | Type | Severity | Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | $817,453 | Building fires | Major | Investigated |
| 2 | $280,970 | Building fires | Major | Investigated |
| 3 | $144,225 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
| 4 | $100,000 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
| 5 | $70,000 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
| 6 | $60,000 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
| 7 | $35,000 | Passenger vehicle fire | Significant | Investigated |
| 8 | $25,000 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
Per-capita rates let us compare apples to apples. Ecorse sits above the national average for incidents per resident.
Top 23 wildfires (1992+) in the FPA-FOD ignitions database, scaled by acres. 1,122 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 | 17.1 mi | |
| 2018 | Equipment and vehicle use | 100 | 47.1 mi | |
| 1996 | Debris and open burning | 98 | 47.4 mi | |
| 2019 | Equipment and vehicle use | 80 | 27.9 mi | |
| 2005 | Debris and open burning | 77 | 27.0 mi | |
| 2010 | Arson/incendiarism | 69 | 38.9 mi | |
| 2020 | Debris and open burning | 50 | 37.9 mi | |
| 2019 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 49 | 27.4 mi | |
| 2010 | Arson/incendiarism | 42 | 14.5 mi | |
| 1994 | Recreation and ceremony | 38 | 34.6 mi | |
| 1996 | Misuse of fire by a minor | 30 | 32.1 mi | |
| 2014 | Recreation and ceremony | 30 | 31.3 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 Ecorse. Useful comparison targets — same state, similar size, different fire profile.
1 departments report to NFIRS for incidents in Ecorse.
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.