In 2025, fire departments serving Hazel Park responded to 186 fire and hazmat incidents — from cooking fires to gas leaks to a single $200K building blaze. Here's the full picture.
Gas leak (natural gas or LPG) lead by count. Building fires lead by dollars. Together the top five categories make up about 60% of all calls.
Jul peaks. Feb dips. Watch for the typical fall climb starting in October.
962 incidents 2021–2025. Peak year was 2021. $2.7M cumulative property loss. 2 civilian deaths.
| Year | Incidents | YoY | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2021 | 238 | — | |
| 2022 | 165 | -30.7% | |
| 2023 | 219 | +32.7% | |
| 2024 | 154 | -29.7% | |
| 2025 | 186 | +20.8% |
For the 14 building fires Hazel Park departments responded to in 2025, here's how they were classified once investigators were finished.
NFIRS Area of Origin (AREA_ORIG) for the 155 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 | 48 | 31.0% | |
| 2 | Other | 18 | 11.6% | |
| 3 | Engine area, running gear, wheel area | 18 | 11.6% | |
| 4 | Cooking area, kitchen | 12 | 7.7% | |
| 5 | Outside area, other | 9 | 5.8% | |
| 6 | Storage area, other | 5 | 3.2% | |
| 7 | Highway, parking lot, street: on or near | 4 | 2.6% | |
| 8 | Vehicle storage area; garage, carport | 3 | 1.9% | |
| 9 | Wall surface: exterior | 3 | 1.9% | |
| 10 | Vehicle area, other | 3 | 1.9% | |
| 11 | All other areas | 32 | 20.6% |
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 Hazel Park mix.
| # | Heat source | Count | Share | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Undetermined | 71 | 45.8% | |
| 2 | Hot or smoldering object, other | 17 | 11.0% | |
| 3 | Hot ember or ash | 11 | 7.1% | |
| 4 | Heat source: other | 10 | 6.5% | |
| 5 | Heat from powered equipment, other | 9 | 5.8% | |
| 6 | Arcing | 7 | 4.5% | |
| 7 | Radiated, conducted heat from operating equipment | 6 | 3.9% | |
| 8 | Spark, ember or flame from operating equipment | 5 | 3.2% | |
| 9 | Heat from other open flame or smoking materials | 3 | 1.9% | |
| 10 | Cigarette | 3 | 1.9% | |
| 11 | All other sources | 13 | 8.4% |
Largest single-incident property losses reported by Hazel Park departments in 2025. These 8 fires alone account for 91% of the city's annual total.
| # | Property loss | Type | Severity | Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | $200,000 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
| 2 | $148,000 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
| 3 | $30,000 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
| 4 | $10,000 | Passenger vehicle fire | Significant | Investigated |
| 5 | $10,000 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
| 6 | $7,000 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
| 7 | $6,000 | Passenger vehicle fire | Significant | Investigated |
| 8 | $5,000 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
Per-capita rates let us compare apples to apples. Hazel Park sits above the national average for incidents per resident.
Top 25 wildfires (1992+) in the FPA-FOD ignitions database, scaled by acres. 1,185 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 | 31.9 mi | |
| 2018 | Equipment and vehicle use | 100 | 43.9 mi | |
| 2019 | Equipment and vehicle use | 80 | 40.9 mi | |
| 2005 | Debris and open burning | 77 | 38.2 mi | |
| 2012 | Smoking | 64 | 45.8 mi | |
| 2003 | Debris and open burning | 53 | 39.3 mi | |
| 2020 | Debris and open burning | 50 | 31.4 mi | |
| 2019 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 49 | 12.5 mi | |
| 2010 | Arson/incendiarism | 42 | 29.4 mi | |
| 1994 | Recreation and ceremony | 38 | 31.9 mi | |
| 2003 | Equipment and vehicle use | 33 | 42.4 mi | |
| 1996 | Misuse of fire by a minor | 30 | 26.2 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 | 48030 | 962 |
Six Michigan cities with population within ±25% of Hazel Park. Useful comparison targets — same state, similar size, different fire profile.
1 departments report to NFIRS for incidents in Hazel Park.
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.