In 2025, fire departments serving Elsie responded to 18 fire and hazmat incidents — from cooking fires to gas leaks to a single $3K 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 100% of all calls.
Jan peaks. Feb dips. Watch for the typical fall climb starting in October.
129 incidents 2021–2025. Peak year was 2023. $53K cumulative property loss.
| Year | Incidents | YoY | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2021 | 21 | — | |
| 2022 | 21 | +0.0% | |
| 2023 | 42 | +100.0% | |
| 2024 | 27 | -35.7% | |
| 2025 | 18 | -33.3% |
For the 14 building fires Elsie 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 | Undetermined | 7 | 29.2% | |
| 2 | Outside area, other | 5 | 20.8% | |
| 3 | Other | 3 | 12.5% | |
| 4 | Cooking area, kitchen | 2 | 8.3% | |
| 5 | Open area - outside; included are farmland, field | 2 | 8.3% | |
| 6 | Storage area, other | 1 | 4.2% | |
| 7 | Equipment or service area, other | 1 | 4.2% | |
| 8 | Heating room or area, water heater area | 1 | 4.2% | |
| 9 | Attic: vacant, crawl space above top story, cupola | 1 | 4.2% | |
| 10 | Separate operator/control area of transportation | 1 | 4.2% |
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 Elsie mix.
| # | Heat source | Count | Share | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Undetermined | 14 | 58.3% | |
| 2 | Hot ember or ash | 3 | 12.5% | |
| 3 | Heat from powered equipment, other | 1 | 4.2% | |
| 4 | Spark, ember or flame from operating equipment | 1 | 4.2% | |
| 5 | Arcing | 1 | 4.2% | |
| 6 | Hot or smoldering object, other | 1 | 4.2% | |
| 7 | Heat from other open flame or smoking materials | 1 | 4.2% | |
| 8 | Candle | 1 | 4.2% | |
| 9 | Heat spread from another fire, other | 1 | 4.2% |
Largest single-incident property losses reported by Elsie departments in 2025. These 1 fires alone account for 100% of the city's annual total.
| # | Property loss | Type | Severity | Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | $2,500 | Chimney or flue fire, confined to chimney or flue | Significant | Investigated |
Per-capita rates let us compare apples to apples. Elsie sits above the national average for incidents per resident.
Top 25 wildfires (1992+) in the FPA-FOD ignitions database, scaled by acres. 2,259 acres burned in this 50-mile radius. Each dot is a fire — bigger dots burned more land.
| Year | Cause | Acres | Distance | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2012 | Arson/incendiarism | 335 | 49.1 mi | |
| 2003 | Debris and open burning | 191 | 28.4 mi | |
| 2003 | Recreation and ceremony | 155 | 43.8 mi | |
| 1994 | Arson/incendiarism | 150 | 46.1 mi | |
| 2020 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 143 | 31.6 mi | |
| 1996 | Arson/incendiarism | 142 | 39.7 mi | |
| 2018 | Equipment and vehicle use | 100 | 41.5 mi | |
| 2003 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 92 | 37.6 mi | |
| 1996 | Debris and open burning | 80 | 17.3 mi | |
| 2003 | Equipment and vehicle use | 70 | 30.3 mi | |
| 1994 | Arson/incendiarism | 70 | 38.2 mi | |
| 2019 | Equipment and vehicle use | 61 | 8.9 mi |
Top 4 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 Elsie. Useful comparison targets — same state, similar size, different fire profile.
1 departments report to NFIRS for incidents in Elsie.
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.