In 2025, fire departments serving Evart responded to 70 fire and hazmat incidents — from cooking fires to gas leaks to a single $120K 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 57% of all calls.
Jun peaks. Dec dips. Watch for the typical fall climb starting in October.
390 incidents 2021–2025. Peak year was 2021. $590K cumulative property loss.
| Year | Incidents | YoY | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2021 | 116 | — | |
| 2022 | 73 | -37.1% | |
| 2023 | 53 | -27.4% | |
| 2024 | 78 | +47.2% | |
| 2025 | 70 | -10.3% |
For the 13 building fires Evart departments responded to in 2025, here's how they were classified once investigators were finished.
NFIRS Area of Origin (AREA_ORIG) for the 99 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 | 18 | 18.2% | |
| 2 | Undetermined | 16 | 16.2% | |
| 3 | Open area - outside; included are farmland, field | 13 | 13.1% | |
| 4 | Engine area, running gear, wheel area | 9 | 9.1% | |
| 5 | Other | 7 | 7.1% | |
| 6 | Attic: vacant, crawl space above top story, cupola | 6 | 6.1% | |
| 7 | Vehicle area, other | 4 | 4.0% | |
| 8 | Function area, other | 3 | 3.0% | |
| 9 | Cooking area, kitchen | 3 | 3.0% | |
| 10 | Wall surface: exterior | 2 | 2.0% | |
| 11 | All other areas | 18 | 18.2% |
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 Evart mix.
| # | Heat source | Count | Share | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Undetermined | 51 | 51.5% | |
| 2 | Hot ember or ash | 12 | 12.1% | |
| 3 | Arcing | 10 | 10.1% | |
| 4 | Heat source: other | 6 | 6.1% | |
| 5 | Radiated heat from another fire | 5 | 5.1% | |
| 6 | Radiated, conducted heat from operating equipment | 3 | 3.0% | |
| 7 | Cigarette lighter | 3 | 3.0% | |
| 8 | Heat from powered equipment, other | 2 | 2.0% | |
| 9 | Heat spread from another fire, other | 2 | 2.0% | |
| 10 | Hot or smoldering object, other | 1 | 1.0% | |
| 11 | All other sources | 4 | 4.0% |
Largest single-incident property losses reported by Evart departments in 2025. These 8 fires alone account for 100% of the city's annual total.
| # | Property loss | Type | Severity | Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | $120,000 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
| 2 | $35,000 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
| 3 | $5,000 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
| 4 | $1,000 | Brush, or brush and grass mixture fire | Significant | Investigated |
| 5 | $1,000 | Fire, other | Significant | Investigated |
| 6 | $1,000 | Passenger vehicle fire | Significant | Investigated |
| 7 | $250 | Grass fire | Significant | Investigated |
| 8 | $25 | Grass fire | Significant | Investigated |
Per-capita rates let us compare apples to apples. Evart sits above the national average for incidents per resident.
Top 25 wildfires (1992+) in the FPA-FOD ignitions database, scaled by acres. 5,675 acres burned in this 50-mile radius. Each dot is a fire — bigger dots burned more land.
| Year | Cause | Acres | Distance | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2005 | Equipment and vehicle use | 1,557 | 38.7 mi | |
| 1994 | Recreation and ceremony | 910 | 30.2 mi | |
| 2003 | Debris and open burning | 764 | 36.8 mi | |
| 1995 | Natural | 200 | 42.7 mi | |
| 2003 | Debris and open burning | 162 | 39.9 mi | |
| 2003 | Recreation and ceremony | 155 | 43.8 mi | |
| 2004 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 153 | 30.3 mi | |
| 2011 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 152 | 21.9 mi | |
| 2008 | Debris and open burning | 133 | 30.5 mi | |
| 2010 | Natural | 118 | 38.4 mi | |
| 1994 | Recreation and ceremony | 107 | 49.6 mi | |
| 2003 | Arson/incendiarism | 106 | 49.8 mi |
Top 5 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 Evart. Useful comparison targets — same state, similar size, different fire profile.
2 departments report to NFIRS for incidents in Evart.
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.