In 2025, fire departments serving Ferrysburg responded to 25 fire and hazmat incidents — from cooking fires to gas leaks to a single $15K 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 76% of all calls.
May peaks. Sep dips. Watch for the typical fall climb starting in October.
115 incidents 2021–2025. Peak year was 2023. $1.7M cumulative property loss.
| Year | Incidents | YoY | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2021 | 19 | — | |
| 2022 | 18 | -5.3% | |
| 2023 | 30 | +66.7% | |
| 2024 | 23 | -23.3% | |
| 2025 | 25 | +8.7% |
For the 3 building fires Ferrysburg departments responded to in 2025, here's how they were classified once investigators were finished.
NFIRS Area of Origin (AREA_ORIG) for the 16 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 | Engine area, running gear, wheel area | 3 | 18.8% | |
| 2 | Processing/manufacturing area, workroom | 2 | 12.5% | |
| 3 | Common room, den, family room, living room, lounge | 1 | 6.2% | |
| 4 | Bedroom - < 5 persons; included are jail or prison | 1 | 6.2% | |
| 5 | Laundry area, wash house (laundry) | 1 | 6.2% | |
| 6 | Vehicle storage area; garage, carport | 1 | 6.2% | |
| 7 | Exterior balcony, unenclosed porch | 1 | 6.2% | |
| 8 | Wall surface: exterior | 1 | 6.2% | |
| 9 | Vehicle area, other | 1 | 6.2% | |
| 10 | Operator/passenger area of transportation equip. | 1 | 6.2% | |
| 11 | All other areas | 3 | 18.8% |
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 Ferrysburg mix.
| # | Heat source | Count | Share | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Arcing | 4 | 25.0% | |
| 2 | Cigarette | 4 | 25.0% | |
| 3 | Heat, spark from friction | 3 | 18.8% | |
| 4 | Heat from powered equipment, other | 1 | 6.2% | |
| 5 | Radiated, conducted heat from operating equipment | 1 | 6.2% | |
| 6 | Heat from other open flame or smoking materials | 1 | 6.2% | |
| 7 | Match | 1 | 6.2% | |
| 8 | Flying brand, ember, spark | 1 | 6.2% |
Largest single-incident property losses reported by Ferrysburg departments in 2025. These 3 fires alone account for 100% of the city's annual total.
| # | Property loss | Type | Severity | Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | $15,000 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
| 2 | $10,000 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
| 3 | $750 | Passenger vehicle fire | Significant | Investigated |
Per-capita rates let us compare apples to apples. Ferrysburg sits above the national average for incidents per resident.
Top 25 wildfires (1992+) in the FPA-FOD ignitions database, scaled by acres. 2,442 acres burned in this 50-mile radius. Each dot is a fire — bigger dots burned more land.
| Year | Cause | Acres | Distance | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2003 | Arson/incendiarism | 275 | 18.1 mi | |
| 2010 | Power generation/transmission/distribution | 175 | 12.5 mi | |
| 2003 | Debris and open burning | 162 | 35.2 mi | |
| 1994 | Arson/incendiarism | 151 | 26.3 mi | |
| 1994 | Arson/incendiarism | 150 | 46.4 mi | |
| 1994 | Recreation and ceremony | 107 | 24.2 mi | |
| 2003 | Arson/incendiarism | 106 | 30.1 mi | |
| 2018 | Arson/incendiarism | 105 | 33.9 mi | |
| 2018 | Arson/incendiarism | 105 | 34.0 mi | |
| 1994 | Debris and open burning | 100 | 49.5 mi | |
| 2003 | Debris and open burning | 96 | 46.7 mi | |
| 1995 | Recreation and ceremony | 93 | 28.1 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 | 49409 | 115 |
Six Michigan cities with population within ±25% of Ferrysburg. Useful comparison targets — same state, similar size, different fire profile.
1 departments report to NFIRS for incidents in Ferrysburg.
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.