In 2025, fire departments serving Elk Rapids responded to 17 fire and hazmat incidents . Here's the full picture.
Hazardous condition, other lead by count. Building fires lead by dollars. Together the top five categories make up about 100% of all calls.
Dec peaks. Jan dips. Watch for the typical fall climb starting in October.
118 incidents 2021–2025. Peak year was 2021. $589K cumulative property loss.
| Year | Incidents | YoY | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2021 | 28 | — | |
| 2022 | 26 | -7.1% | |
| 2023 | 23 | -11.5% | |
| 2024 | 24 | +4.3% | |
| 2025 | 17 | -29.2% |
For the 2 building fires Elk Rapids departments responded to in 2025, here's how they were classified once investigators were finished.
NFIRS Area of Origin (AREA_ORIG) for the 19 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 | 4 | 21.1% | |
| 2 | Cooking area, kitchen | 3 | 15.8% | |
| 3 | Bedroom - < 5 persons; included are jail or prison | 2 | 10.5% | |
| 4 | Vehicle area, other | 2 | 10.5% | |
| 5 | Other | 1 | 5.3% | |
| 6 | Laundry area, wash house (laundry) | 1 | 5.3% | |
| 7 | Processing/manufacturing area, workroom | 1 | 5.3% | |
| 8 | Duct: hvac, cable, exhaust, heating, or AC | 1 | 5.3% | |
| 9 | Equipment or service area, other | 1 | 5.3% | |
| 10 | Substructure area or space, crawl space | 1 | 5.3% | |
| 11 | All other areas | 2 | 10.5% |
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 Elk Rapids mix.
| # | Heat source | Count | Share | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Heat from powered equipment, other | 4 | 21.1% | |
| 2 | Arcing | 4 | 21.1% | |
| 3 | Radiated, conducted heat from operating equipment | 3 | 15.8% | |
| 4 | Hot ember or ash | 2 | 10.5% | |
| 5 | Heat source: other | 1 | 5.3% | |
| 6 | Spark, ember or flame from operating equipment | 1 | 5.3% | |
| 7 | Cigarette | 1 | 5.3% | |
| 8 | Heat from undetermined smoking material | 1 | 5.3% | |
| 9 | Heat spread from another fire, other | 1 | 5.3% | |
| 10 | Undetermined | 1 | 5.3% |
Per-capita rates let us compare apples to apples. Elk Rapids sits above the national average for incidents per resident.
Top 25 wildfires (1992+) in the FPA-FOD ignitions database, scaled by acres. 11,403 acres burned in this 50-mile radius. Each dot is a fire — bigger dots burned more land.
| Year | Cause | Acres | Distance | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2016 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 2,250 | 41.4 mi | |
| 2018 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 1,900 | 39.7 mi | |
| 2008 | Railroad operations and maintenance | 1,345 | 39.7 mi | |
| 2010 | Debris and open burning | 1,040 | 32.2 mi | |
| 2015 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 844 | 41.7 mi | |
| 2011 | Power generation/transmission/distribution | 817 | 31.7 mi | |
| 1996 | Natural | 628 | 48.8 mi | |
| 1995 | Arson/incendiarism | 484 | 41.5 mi | |
| 1995 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 250 | 38.9 mi | |
| 1995 | Arson/incendiarism | 200 | 35.6 mi | |
| 2002 | Power generation/transmission/distribution | 160 | 48.9 mi | |
| 1994 | Debris and open burning | 148 | 10.2 mi |
Top 1 ZIP codes by NFIRS incident count across 2021–2025. Each ZIP has its own fire profile — dive in for neighborhood-level context.
| # | ZIP | 5-yr incidents | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 49629 | 118 |
Six Michigan cities with population within ±25% of Elk Rapids. Useful comparison targets — same state, similar size, different fire profile.
1 departments report to NFIRS for incidents in Elk 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.