In 2025, fire departments serving Grand Rapids responded to 132 fire and hazmat incidents — from cooking fires to gas leaks to a single $320K 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 65% of all calls.
Apr peaks. Jun dips. Watch for the typical fall climb starting in October.
529 incidents 2021–2025. Peak year was 2025. $2.8M cumulative property loss.
| Year | Incidents | YoY | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2021 | 99 | — | |
| 2022 | 118 | +19.2% | |
| 2023 | 76 | -35.6% | |
| 2024 | 104 | +36.8% | |
| 2025 | 132 | +26.9% |
For the 36 building fires Grand Rapids departments responded to in 2025, here's how they were classified once investigators were finished.
NFIRS Area of Origin (AREA_ORIG) for the 133 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 | Undetermined | 43 | 32.3% | |
| 2 | Engine area, running gear, wheel area | 13 | 9.8% | |
| 3 | Open area - outside; included are farmland, field | 11 | 8.3% | |
| 4 | Cooking area, kitchen | 9 | 6.8% | |
| 5 | Wall surface: exterior | 6 | 4.5% | |
| 6 | Outside area, other | 6 | 4.5% | |
| 7 | Bathroom, checkroom, lavatory, locker room | 5 | 3.8% | |
| 8 | Vehicle storage area; garage, carport | 5 | 3.8% | |
| 9 | Wildland, woods | 4 | 3.0% | |
| 10 | Vehicle area, other | 3 | 2.3% | |
| 11 | All other areas | 28 | 21.1% |
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 Grand Rapids mix.
| # | Heat source | Count | Share | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Undetermined | 77 | 57.9% | |
| 2 | Hot ember or ash | 14 | 10.5% | |
| 3 | Heat from powered equipment, other | 6 | 4.5% | |
| 4 | Arcing | 6 | 4.5% | |
| 5 | Hot or smoldering object, other | 5 | 3.8% | |
| 6 | Spark, ember or flame from operating equipment | 4 | 3.0% | |
| 7 | Match | 4 | 3.0% | |
| 8 | Cigarette | 3 | 2.3% | |
| 9 | Radiated, conducted heat from operating equipment | 2 | 1.5% | |
| 10 | Heat spread from another fire, other | 2 | 1.5% | |
| 11 | All other sources | 10 | 7.5% |
Largest single-incident property losses reported by Grand Rapids departments in 2025. These 8 fires alone account for 96% of the city's annual total.
| # | Property loss | Type | Severity | Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | $320,000 | Road freight or transport vehicle fire | Major | Investigated |
| 2 | $200,000 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
| 3 | $200,000 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
| 4 | $130,000 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
| 5 | $100,000 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
| 6 | $100,000 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
| 7 | $17,000 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
| 8 | $15,000 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
Per-capita rates let us compare apples to apples. Grand Rapids sits above the national average for incidents per resident.
Top 25 wildfires (1992+) in the FPA-FOD ignitions database, scaled by acres. 16,608 acres burned in this 50-mile radius. Each dot is a fire — bigger dots burned more land.
| Year | Cause | Acres | Distance | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2015 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 3,200 | 40.5 mi | |
| 1996 | Arson/incendiarism | 1,242 | 28.3 mi | |
| 2009 | Arson/incendiarism | 1,150 | 29.5 mi | |
| 1998 | Railroad operations and maintenance | 950 | 43.7 mi | |
| 1997 | Arson/incendiarism | 930 | 45.7 mi | |
| 2012 | Arson/incendiarism | 850 | 31.0 mi | |
| 2003 | Railroad operations and maintenance | 732 | 43.9 mi | |
| 1996 | Arson/incendiarism | 725 | 31.1 mi | |
| 1999 | Arson/incendiarism | 679 | 32.1 mi | |
| 1992 | Arson/incendiarism | 600 | 28.8 mi | |
| 1997 | Debris and open burning | 600 | 29.6 mi | |
| 2010 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 517 | 25.0 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 | 55744 | 529 |
Six Minnesota cities with population within ±25% of Grand Rapids. 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.