In 2025, fire departments serving Frankenmuth responded to 56 fire and hazmat incidents — from cooking fires to gas leaks to a single $418K 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 68% of all calls.
Mar peaks. Feb dips. Watch for the typical fall climb starting in October.
272 incidents 2021–2025. Peak year was 2024. $1.2M cumulative property loss.
| Year | Incidents | YoY | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2021 | 53 | — | |
| 2022 | 47 | -11.3% | |
| 2023 | 48 | +2.1% | |
| 2024 | 68 | +41.7% | |
| 2025 | 56 | -17.6% |
For the 5 building fires Frankenmuth departments responded to in 2025, here's how they were classified once investigators were finished.
NFIRS Area of Origin (AREA_ORIG) for the 52 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 | 7 | 13.5% | |
| 2 | Cooking area, kitchen | 4 | 7.7% | |
| 3 | Storage area, other | 4 | 7.7% | |
| 4 | Outside area, other | 4 | 7.7% | |
| 5 | Open area - outside; included are farmland, field | 4 | 7.7% | |
| 6 | Undetermined | 4 | 7.7% | |
| 7 | Laundry area, wash house (laundry) | 3 | 5.8% | |
| 8 | Function area, other | 2 | 3.8% | |
| 9 | Chute/container - trash, rubbish, waste | 2 | 3.8% | |
| 10 | Vehicle storage area; garage, carport | 2 | 3.8% | |
| 11 | All other areas | 16 | 30.8% |
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 Frankenmuth mix.
| # | Heat source | Count | Share | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Undetermined | 17 | 32.7% | |
| 2 | Radiated, conducted heat from operating equipment | 9 | 17.3% | |
| 3 | Arcing | 7 | 13.5% | |
| 4 | Heat from powered equipment, other | 3 | 5.8% | |
| 5 | Heat from other open flame or smoking materials | 3 | 5.8% | |
| 6 | Hot ember or ash | 2 | 3.8% | |
| 7 | Cigarette | 2 | 3.8% | |
| 8 | Radiated heat from another fire | 2 | 3.8% | |
| 9 | Heat source: other | 1 | 1.9% | |
| 10 | Spark, ember or flame from operating equipment | 1 | 1.9% | |
| 11 | All other sources | 5 | 9.6% |
Largest single-incident property losses reported by Frankenmuth departments in 2025. These 4 fires alone account for 100% of the city's annual total.
| # | Property loss | Type | Severity | Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | $417,800 | Building fires | Major | Investigated |
| 2 | $259,800 | Building fires | Major | Investigated |
| 3 | $25,000 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
| 4 | $250 | Outside equipment fire | Significant | Investigated |
Per-capita rates let us compare apples to apples. Frankenmuth sits above the national average for incidents per resident.
Top 25 wildfires (1992+) in the FPA-FOD ignitions database, scaled by acres. 2,246 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 | 17.6 mi | |
| 2012 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 257 | 39.2 mi | |
| 2004 | Natural | 186 | 42.3 mi | |
| 2003 | Recreation and ceremony | 155 | 44.0 mi | |
| 2020 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 143 | 48.1 mi | |
| 2003 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 116 | 49.2 mi | |
| 1996 | Debris and open burning | 80 | 45.6 mi | |
| 2010 | Debris and open burning | 70 | 32.6 mi | |
| 2004 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 67 | 21.0 mi | |
| 2012 | Smoking | 64 | 30.5 mi | |
| 2009 | Debris and open burning | 63 | 18.6 mi | |
| 2019 | Equipment and vehicle use | 61 | 42.3 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 | 48734 | 272 |
Six Michigan cities with population within ±25% of Frankenmuth. Useful comparison targets — same state, similar size, different fire profile.
1 departments report to NFIRS for incidents in Frankenmuth.
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.