In 2025, fire departments serving Grass Lake responded to 47 fire and hazmat incidents — from cooking fires to gas leaks to a single $50K 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 58% of all calls.
Mar peaks. Feb dips. Watch for the typical fall climb starting in October.
376 incidents 2021–2025. Peak year was 2021. $2.2M cumulative property loss.
| Year | Incidents | YoY | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2021 | 90 | — | |
| 2022 | 85 | -5.6% | |
| 2023 | 83 | -2.4% | |
| 2024 | 71 | -14.5% | |
| 2025 | 47 | -33.8% |
For the 6 building fires Grass Lake departments responded to in 2025, here's how they were classified once investigators were finished.
NFIRS Area of Origin (AREA_ORIG) for the 116 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 | 19 | 16.4% | |
| 2 | Engine area, running gear, wheel area | 17 | 14.7% | |
| 3 | Outside area, other | 11 | 9.5% | |
| 4 | Wildland, woods | 11 | 9.5% | |
| 5 | Undetermined | 10 | 8.6% | |
| 6 | Storage area, other | 6 | 5.2% | |
| 7 | Other | 5 | 4.3% | |
| 8 | Cooking area, kitchen | 5 | 4.3% | |
| 9 | Structural area, other | 4 | 3.4% | |
| 10 | Vehicle storage area; garage, carport | 3 | 2.6% | |
| 11 | All other areas | 25 | 21.6% |
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 Grass Lake mix.
| # | Heat source | Count | Share | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Undetermined | 44 | 37.9% | |
| 2 | Heat from other open flame or smoking materials | 12 | 10.3% | |
| 3 | Hot ember or ash | 9 | 7.8% | |
| 4 | Heat from powered equipment, other | 6 | 5.2% | |
| 5 | Arcing | 6 | 5.2% | |
| 6 | Heat source: other | 5 | 4.3% | |
| 7 | Spark, ember or flame from operating equipment | 4 | 3.4% | |
| 8 | Hot or smoldering object, other | 4 | 3.4% | |
| 9 | Heat from direct flame, convection currents | 4 | 3.4% | |
| 10 | Heat, spark from friction | 3 | 2.6% | |
| 11 | All other sources | 19 | 16.4% |
Largest single-incident property losses reported by Grass Lake departments in 2025. These 7 fires alone account for 100% of the city's annual total.
| # | Property loss | Type | Severity | Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | $50,000 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
| 2 | $15,000 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
| 3 | $10,000 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
| 4 | $10,000 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
| 5 | $5,000 | Fuel burner/boiler malfunction, fire confined | Significant | Investigated |
| 6 | $1,000 | Cooking fire, confined to container | Significant | Investigated |
| 7 | $600 | Cooking fire, confined to container | Significant | Investigated |
Per-capita rates let us compare apples to apples. Grass Lake sits above the national average for incidents per resident.
Top 25 wildfires (1992+) in the FPA-FOD ignitions database, scaled by acres. 1,609 acres burned in this 50-mile radius. Each dot is a fire — bigger dots burned more land.
| Year | Cause | Acres | Distance | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2020 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 143 | 30.6 mi | |
| 1996 | Arson/incendiarism | 142 | 19.0 mi | |
| 2018 | Natural | 105 | 41.5 mi | |
| 2018 | Equipment and vehicle use | 100 | 26.8 mi | |
| 1996 | Debris and open burning | 98 | 8.8 mi | |
| 1996 | Arson/incendiarism | 96 | 4.6 mi | |
| 2019 | Equipment and vehicle use | 80 | 40.5 mi | |
| 1996 | Debris and open burning | 80 | 41.3 mi | |
| 2005 | Debris and open burning | 77 | 34.5 mi | |
| 2003 | Equipment and vehicle use | 70 | 28.6 mi | |
| 1994 | Debris and open burning | 60 | 38.8 mi | |
| 2017 | Power generation/transmission/distribution | 51 | 30.8 mi |
Top 2 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 Grass Lake. 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.