In 2025, fire departments serving Franklin responded to 39 fire and hazmat incidents — from cooking fires to gas leaks to a single $2K 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 80% of all calls.
Jun peaks. Feb dips. Watch for the typical fall climb starting in October.
296 incidents 2021–2025. Peak year was 2021. $1.4M cumulative property loss.
| Year | Incidents | YoY | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2021 | 78 | — | |
| 2022 | 45 | -42.3% | |
| 2023 | 75 | +66.7% | |
| 2024 | 59 | -21.3% | |
| 2025 | 39 | -33.9% |
For the 2 building fires Franklin departments responded to in 2025, here's how they were classified once investigators were finished.
NFIRS Area of Origin (AREA_ORIG) for the 25 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 | 6 | 24.0% | |
| 2 | Vehicle storage area; garage, carport | 3 | 12.0% | |
| 3 | Highway, parking lot, street: on or near | 3 | 12.0% | |
| 4 | Undetermined | 3 | 12.0% | |
| 5 | Other | 1 | 4.0% | |
| 6 | Function area, other | 1 | 4.0% | |
| 7 | Office | 1 | 4.0% | |
| 8 | Storage area, other | 1 | 4.0% | |
| 9 | Equipment or service area, other | 1 | 4.0% | |
| 10 | Structural area, other | 1 | 4.0% | |
| 11 | All other areas | 4 | 16.0% |
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 Franklin mix.
| # | Heat source | Count | Share | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Undetermined | 10 | 40.0% | |
| 2 | Heat source: other | 3 | 12.0% | |
| 3 | Arcing | 2 | 8.0% | |
| 4 | Hot or smoldering object, other | 2 | 8.0% | |
| 5 | Hot ember or ash | 2 | 8.0% | |
| 6 | Heat from powered equipment, other | 1 | 4.0% | |
| 7 | Spark, ember or flame from operating equipment | 1 | 4.0% | |
| 8 | Radiated, conducted heat from operating equipment | 1 | 4.0% | |
| 9 | Lightning | 1 | 4.0% | |
| 10 | Heat from direct flame, convection currents | 1 | 4.0% | |
| 11 | All other sources | 1 | 4.0% |
Largest single-incident property losses reported by Franklin departments in 2025. These 2 fires alone account for 100% of the city's annual total.
| # | Property loss | Type | Severity | Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | $1,500 | Heat from short circuit (wiring), defective/worn | Significant | Investigated |
| 2 | $200 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
Per-capita rates let us compare apples to apples. Franklin sits above the national average for incidents per resident.
Top 25 wildfires (1992+) in the FPA-FOD ignitions database, scaled by acres. 1,654 acres burned in this 50-mile radius. Each dot is a fire — bigger dots burned more land.
| Year | Cause | Acres | Distance | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2019 | Debris and open burning | 300 | 35.4 mi | |
| 2020 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 143 | 41.9 mi | |
| 2018 | Equipment and vehicle use | 100 | 32.9 mi | |
| 1996 | Debris and open burning | 98 | 45.2 mi | |
| 1996 | Arson/incendiarism | 96 | 49.8 mi | |
| 2019 | Equipment and vehicle use | 80 | 40.2 mi | |
| 2005 | Debris and open burning | 77 | 35.7 mi | |
| 2003 | Equipment and vehicle use | 70 | 48.8 mi | |
| 2012 | Smoking | 64 | 41.8 mi | |
| 2003 | Debris and open burning | 53 | 43.6 mi | |
| 2017 | Power generation/transmission/distribution | 51 | 41.9 mi | |
| 2015 | Equipment and vehicle use | 50 | 39.5 mi |
Top 3 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 Franklin. Useful comparison targets — same state, similar size, different fire profile.
1 departments report to NFIRS for incidents in Franklin.
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.