In 2025, fire departments serving Harbor Beach responded to 57 fire and hazmat incidents . Here's the full picture.
Power line down lead by count. Building fires lead by dollars. Together the top five categories make up about 75% of all calls.
Jul peaks. Sep dips. Watch for the typical fall climb starting in October.
278 incidents 2021–2025. Peak year was 2021. $135K cumulative property loss.
| Year | Incidents | YoY | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2021 | 65 | — | |
| 2022 | 57 | -12.3% | |
| 2023 | 43 | -24.6% | |
| 2024 | 56 | +30.2% | |
| 2025 | 57 | +1.8% |
For the 10 building fires Harbor Beach departments responded to in 2025, here's how they were classified once investigators were finished.
NFIRS Area of Origin (AREA_ORIG) for the 47 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 | 14.9% | |
| 2 | Open area - outside; included are farmland, field | 5 | 10.6% | |
| 3 | Cooking area, kitchen | 3 | 6.4% | |
| 4 | Bathroom, checkroom, lavatory, locker room | 3 | 6.4% | |
| 5 | Storage area, other | 3 | 6.4% | |
| 6 | Attic: vacant, crawl space above top story, cupola | 3 | 6.4% | |
| 7 | Vehicle area, other | 3 | 6.4% | |
| 8 | Outside area, other | 3 | 6.4% | |
| 9 | Bedroom - < 5 persons; included are jail or prison | 2 | 4.3% | |
| 10 | Vehicle storage area; garage, carport | 2 | 4.3% | |
| 11 | All other areas | 13 | 27.7% |
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 Harbor Beach mix.
| # | Heat source | Count | Share | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Heat from powered equipment, other | 11 | 23.4% | |
| 2 | Spark, ember or flame from operating equipment | 7 | 14.9% | |
| 3 | Arcing | 7 | 14.9% | |
| 4 | Hot or smoldering object, other | 7 | 14.9% | |
| 5 | Hot ember or ash | 5 | 10.6% | |
| 6 | Radiated, conducted heat from operating equipment | 4 | 8.5% | |
| 7 | Undetermined | 3 | 6.4% | |
| 8 | Heat, spark from friction | 1 | 2.1% | |
| 9 | Heat from other open flame or smoking materials | 1 | 2.1% | |
| 10 | Flame/torch used for lighting | 1 | 2.1% |
Per-capita rates let us compare apples to apples. Harbor Beach sits above the national average for incidents per resident.
Top 14 wildfires (1992+) in the FPA-FOD ignitions database, scaled by acres. 789 acres burned in this 50-mile radius. Each dot is a fire — bigger dots burned more land.
| Year | Cause | Acres | Distance | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2012 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 257 | 38.9 mi | |
| 2003 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 116 | 18.6 mi | |
| 2010 | Debris and open burning | 70 | 32.2 mi | |
| 2005 | Equipment and vehicle use | 66 | 18.0 mi | |
| 1994 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 60 | 36.0 mi | |
| 2001 | Fireworks | 40 | 18.7 mi | |
| 2005 | Debris and open burning | 36 | 25.8 mi | |
| 2004 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 35 | 49.6 mi | |
| 2018 | Equipment and vehicle use | 30 | 42.2 mi | |
| 2019 | Power generation/transmission/distribution | 27 | 28.8 mi | |
| 2019 | Natural | 15 | 49.3 mi | |
| 2019 | Debris and open burning | 15 | 49.5 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 | 48441 | 278 |
Six Michigan cities with population within ±25% of Harbor Beach. Useful comparison targets — same state, similar size, different fire profile.
2 departments report to NFIRS for incidents in Harbor Beach.
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.