In 2025, fire departments serving Hart responded to 83 fire and hazmat incidents — from cooking fires to gas leaks to a single $200K 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 71% of all calls.
Mar peaks. Oct dips. Watch for the typical fall climb starting in October.
339 incidents 2021–2025. Peak year was 2021. $1.5M cumulative property loss. 1 civilian deaths.
| Year | Incidents | YoY | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2021 | 83 | — | |
| 2022 | 66 | -20.5% | |
| 2023 | 54 | -18.2% | |
| 2024 | 53 | -1.9% | |
| 2025 | 83 | +56.6% |
For the 26 building fires Hart departments responded to in 2025, here's how they were classified once investigators were finished.
NFIRS Area of Origin (AREA_ORIG) for the 79 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 | Outside area, other | 15 | 19.0% | |
| 2 | Engine area, running gear, wheel area | 14 | 17.7% | |
| 3 | Undetermined | 14 | 17.7% | |
| 4 | Structural area, other | 6 | 7.6% | |
| 5 | Other | 4 | 5.1% | |
| 6 | Open area - outside; included are farmland, field | 4 | 5.1% | |
| 7 | Bedroom - < 5 persons; included are jail or prison | 3 | 3.8% | |
| 8 | Vehicle area, other | 3 | 3.8% | |
| 9 | Cooking area, kitchen | 2 | 2.5% | |
| 10 | Wall assembly | 2 | 2.5% | |
| 11 | All other areas | 12 | 15.2% |
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 Hart mix.
| # | Heat source | Count | Share | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Undetermined | 26 | 32.9% | |
| 2 | Heat from powered equipment, other | 14 | 17.7% | |
| 3 | Hot or smoldering object, other | 14 | 17.7% | |
| 4 | Arcing | 4 | 5.1% | |
| 5 | Radiated, conducted heat from operating equipment | 3 | 3.8% | |
| 6 | Hot ember or ash | 3 | 3.8% | |
| 7 | Match | 3 | 3.8% | |
| 8 | Heat source: other | 2 | 2.5% | |
| 9 | Heat from other open flame or smoking materials | 2 | 2.5% | |
| 10 | Cigarette | 2 | 2.5% | |
| 11 | All other sources | 6 | 7.6% |
Largest single-incident property losses reported by Hart departments in 2025. These 8 fires alone account for 94% of the city's annual total.
| # | Property loss | Type | Severity | Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | $200,000 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
| 2 | $120,000 | Self-propelled motor home or recreational vehicle | Significant | Investigated |
| 3 | $100,000 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
| 4 | $50,000 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
| 5 | $25,000 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
| 6 | $20,000 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
| 7 | $15,000 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
| 8 | $10,000 | Passenger vehicle fire | Significant | Investigated |
Per-capita rates let us compare apples to apples. Hart sits above the national average for incidents per resident.
Top 25 wildfires (1992+) in the FPA-FOD ignitions database, scaled by acres. 4,299 acres burned in this 50-mile radius. Each dot is a fire — bigger dots burned more land.
| Year | Cause | Acres | Distance | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1994 | Recreation and ceremony | 910 | 26.3 mi | |
| 2003 | Debris and open burning | 764 | 44.6 mi | |
| 2003 | Arson/incendiarism | 275 | 27.6 mi | |
| 1995 | Natural | 200 | 31.8 mi | |
| 2010 | Power generation/transmission/distribution | 175 | 31.1 mi | |
| 2003 | Debris and open burning | 162 | 40.4 mi | |
| 2011 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 152 | 39.2 mi | |
| 1994 | Arson/incendiarism | 151 | 19.6 mi | |
| 2008 | Debris and open burning | 133 | 46.2 mi | |
| 2010 | Natural | 118 | 28.1 mi | |
| 1994 | Recreation and ceremony | 107 | 30.6 mi | |
| 2003 | Arson/incendiarism | 106 | 17.8 mi |
Top 4 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 Hart. Useful comparison targets — same state, similar size, different fire profile.
2 departments report to NFIRS for incidents in Hart.
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.