In 2025, fire departments serving Flushing responded to 131 fire and hazmat incidents — from cooking fires to gas leaks to a single $400K 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 69% of all calls.
Jul peaks. Aug dips. Watch for the typical fall climb starting in October.
767 incidents 2021–2025. Peak year was 2021. $4.0M cumulative property loss. 1 civilian deaths.
| Year | Incidents | YoY | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2021 | 232 | — | |
| 2022 | 155 | -33.2% | |
| 2023 | 150 | -3.2% | |
| 2024 | 99 | -34.0% | |
| 2025 | 131 | +32.3% |
For the 46 building fires Flushing departments responded to in 2025, here's how they were classified once investigators were finished.
NFIRS Area of Origin (AREA_ORIG) for the 123 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 | 21 | 17.1% | |
| 2 | Open area - outside; included are farmland, field | 13 | 10.6% | |
| 3 | Cooking area, kitchen | 9 | 7.3% | |
| 4 | Vehicle storage area; garage, carport | 9 | 7.3% | |
| 5 | Vehicle area, other | 7 | 5.7% | |
| 6 | Outside area, other | 7 | 5.7% | |
| 7 | Undetermined | 6 | 4.9% | |
| 8 | Common room, den, family room, living room, lounge | 4 | 3.3% | |
| 9 | Bedroom - < 5 persons; included are jail or prison | 4 | 3.3% | |
| 10 | Attic: vacant, crawl space above top story, cupola | 4 | 3.3% | |
| 11 | All other areas | 39 | 31.7% |
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 Flushing mix.
| # | Heat source | Count | Share | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Undetermined | 45 | 36.6% | |
| 2 | Radiated, conducted heat from operating equipment | 22 | 17.9% | |
| 3 | Hot ember or ash | 13 | 10.6% | |
| 4 | Arcing | 11 | 8.9% | |
| 5 | Heat from powered equipment, other | 6 | 4.9% | |
| 6 | Spark, ember or flame from operating equipment | 5 | 4.1% | |
| 7 | Radiated heat from another fire | 5 | 4.1% | |
| 8 | Heat, spark from friction | 4 | 3.3% | |
| 9 | Cigarette lighter | 3 | 2.4% | |
| 10 | Heat source: other | 2 | 1.6% | |
| 11 | All other sources | 7 | 5.7% |
Largest single-incident property losses reported by Flushing departments in 2025. These 8 fires alone account for 96% of the city's annual total.
| # | Property loss | Type | Severity | Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | $400,000 | Building fires | Major | Investigated |
| 2 | $300,000 | Building fires | Major | Investigated |
| 3 | $200,000 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
| 4 | $200,000 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
| 5 | $150,000 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
| 6 | $80,000 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
| 7 | $75,000 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
| 8 | $30,000 | Fire, other | Significant | Investigated |
Per-capita rates let us compare apples to apples. Flushing sits above the national average for incidents per resident.
Top 25 wildfires (1992+) in the FPA-FOD ignitions database, scaled by acres. 1,870 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 | 36.7 mi | |
| 2020 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 143 | 29.1 mi | |
| 1996 | Arson/incendiarism | 142 | 43.9 mi | |
| 2018 | Equipment and vehicle use | 100 | 33.4 mi | |
| 1996 | Debris and open burning | 80 | 29.8 mi | |
| 2003 | Equipment and vehicle use | 70 | 34.2 mi | |
| 2010 | Debris and open burning | 70 | 49.2 mi | |
| 2004 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 67 | 40.2 mi | |
| 2012 | Smoking | 64 | 32.2 mi | |
| 2009 | Debris and open burning | 63 | 37.8 mi | |
| 2019 | Equipment and vehicle use | 61 | 35.9 mi | |
| 2006 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 61 | 38.6 mi |
Top 8 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 Flushing. Useful comparison targets — same state, similar size, different fire profile.
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.