In 2025, fire departments serving Harper Woods responded to 84 fire and hazmat incidents — from cooking fires to gas leaks to a single $100K 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 70% of all calls.
Feb peaks. Nov dips. Watch for the typical fall climb starting in October.
590 incidents 2021–2025. Peak year was 2023. $137K cumulative property loss.
| Year | Incidents | YoY | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2021 | 137 | — | |
| 2022 | 107 | -21.9% | |
| 2023 | 141 | +31.8% | |
| 2024 | 121 | -14.2% | |
| 2025 | 84 | -30.6% |
For the 15 building fires Harper Woods departments responded to in 2025, here's how they were classified once investigators were finished.
NFIRS Area of Origin (AREA_ORIG) for the 97 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 | 30 | 30.9% | |
| 2 | Cooking area, kitchen | 17 | 17.5% | |
| 3 | Engine area, running gear, wheel area | 11 | 11.3% | |
| 4 | Outside area, other | 6 | 6.2% | |
| 5 | Bedroom - < 5 persons; included are jail or prison | 5 | 5.2% | |
| 6 | Vehicle area, other | 5 | 5.2% | |
| 7 | Common room, den, family room, living room, lounge | 3 | 3.1% | |
| 8 | Substructure area or space, crawl space | 3 | 3.1% | |
| 9 | Storage area, other | 2 | 2.1% | |
| 10 | Equipment or service area, other | 2 | 2.1% | |
| 11 | All other areas | 13 | 13.4% |
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 Harper Woods mix.
| # | Heat source | Count | Share | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Undetermined | 69 | 71.1% | |
| 2 | Heat from powered equipment, other | 8 | 8.2% | |
| 3 | Heat source: other | 4 | 4.1% | |
| 4 | Arcing | 4 | 4.1% | |
| 5 | Heat from other open flame or smoking materials | 3 | 3.1% | |
| 6 | Spark, ember or flame from operating equipment | 2 | 2.1% | |
| 7 | Hot or smoldering object, other | 2 | 2.1% | |
| 8 | Molten, hot material | 1 | 1.0% | |
| 9 | Hot ember or ash | 1 | 1.0% | |
| 10 | Lightning | 1 | 1.0% | |
| 11 | All other sources | 2 | 2.1% |
Largest single-incident property losses reported by Harper Woods departments in 2025. These 2 fires alone account for 100% of the city's annual total.
| # | Property loss | Type | Severity | Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | $100,000 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
| 2 | $10,000 | Passenger vehicle fire | Significant | Investigated |
Per-capita rates let us compare apples to apples. Harper Woods sits below the national average for incidents per resident.
Top 23 wildfires (1992+) in the FPA-FOD ignitions database, scaled by acres. 1,012 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 | 33.3 mi | |
| 2019 | Equipment and vehicle use | 80 | 44.9 mi | |
| 2005 | Debris and open burning | 77 | 43.3 mi | |
| 2012 | Smoking | 64 | 49.1 mi | |
| 2003 | Debris and open burning | 53 | 36.4 mi | |
| 2020 | Debris and open burning | 50 | 40.0 mi | |
| 2019 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 49 | 15.9 mi | |
| 2010 | Arson/incendiarism | 42 | 30.6 mi | |
| 1994 | Recreation and ceremony | 38 | 40.6 mi | |
| 2003 | Equipment and vehicle use | 33 | 43.5 mi | |
| 1996 | Misuse of fire by a minor | 30 | 34.9 mi | |
| 2014 | Recreation and ceremony | 30 | 34.0 mi |
Top 8 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 Harper Woods. Useful comparison targets — same state, similar size, different fire profile.
1 departments report to NFIRS for incidents in Harper Woods.
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.