In 2025, fire departments serving Grand Rapids responded to 25 fire and hazmat incidents . Here's the full picture.
Building fires lead by count. Building fires lead by dollars. Together the top five categories make up about 56% of all calls.
Oct peaks. Feb dips. Watch for the typical fall climb starting in October.
145 incidents 2021–2025. Peak year was 2023. $135K cumulative property loss.
| Year | Incidents | YoY | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2021 | 25 | — | |
| 2022 | 29 | +16.0% | |
| 2023 | 37 | +27.6% | |
| 2024 | 29 | -21.6% | |
| 2025 | 25 | -13.8% |
For the 4 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 37 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 | Open area - outside; included are farmland, field | 9 | 24.3% | |
| 2 | Engine area, running gear, wheel area | 4 | 10.8% | |
| 3 | Outside area, other | 3 | 8.1% | |
| 4 | Undetermined | 3 | 8.1% | |
| 5 | Vehicle storage area; garage, carport | 2 | 5.4% | |
| 6 | Heating room or area, water heater area | 2 | 5.4% | |
| 7 | Operator/passenger area of transportation equip. | 2 | 5.4% | |
| 8 | Other | 1 | 2.7% | |
| 9 | Common room, den, family room, living room, lounge | 1 | 2.7% | |
| 10 | Laundry area, wash house (laundry) | 1 | 2.7% | |
| 11 | All other areas | 9 | 24.3% |
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 | 14 | 37.8% | |
| 2 | Arcing | 4 | 10.8% | |
| 3 | Heat from powered equipment, other | 3 | 8.1% | |
| 4 | Hot or smoldering object, other | 3 | 8.1% | |
| 5 | Flame/torch used for lighting | 3 | 8.1% | |
| 6 | Hot ember or ash | 2 | 5.4% | |
| 7 | Spark, ember or flame from operating equipment | 1 | 2.7% | |
| 8 | Radiated, conducted heat from operating equipment | 1 | 2.7% | |
| 9 | Heat, spark from friction | 1 | 2.7% | |
| 10 | Heat from other open flame or smoking materials | 1 | 2.7% | |
| 11 | All other sources | 4 | 10.8% |
Per-capita rates let us compare apples to apples. Grand Rapids sits above the national average for incidents per resident.
Top 20 wildfires (1992+) in the FPA-FOD ignitions database, scaled by acres. 505 acres burned in this 50-mile radius. Each dot is a fire — bigger dots burned more land.
| Year | Cause | Acres | Distance | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2019 | Equipment and vehicle use | 80 | 42.1 mi | |
| 2005 | Debris and open burning | 77 | 46.5 mi | |
| 2010 | Arson/incendiarism | 69 | 30.8 mi | |
| 2019 | Debris and open burning | 58 | 18.6 mi | |
| 2019 | Debris and open burning | 40 | 35.0 mi | |
| 2017 | Debris and open burning | 22 | 15.5 mi | |
| 2011 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 16 | 22.7 mi | |
| 2019 | Equipment and vehicle use | 15 | 47.6 mi | |
| 2019 | Equipment and vehicle use | 15 | 44.8 mi | |
| 2019 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 12 | 33.2 mi | |
| 2015 | Debris and open burning | 11 | 10.7 mi | |
| 2018 | Equipment and vehicle use | 10 | 35.9 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 | 43522 | 145 |
Six Ohio 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.