In 2025, fire departments serving Hemlock responded to 58 fire and hazmat incidents — from cooking fires to gas leaks to a single $60K 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 66% of all calls.
Mar peaks. Jun dips. Watch for the typical fall climb starting in October.
349 incidents 2021–2025. Peak year was 2022. $6.3M cumulative property loss.
| Year | Incidents | YoY | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2021 | 65 | — | |
| 2022 | 100 | +53.8% | |
| 2023 | 52 | -48.0% | |
| 2024 | 74 | +42.3% | |
| 2025 | 58 | -21.6% |
For the 11 building fires Hemlock departments responded to in 2025, here's how they were classified once investigators were finished.
NFIRS Area of Origin (AREA_ORIG) for the 80 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 | 14 | 17.5% | |
| 2 | Open area - outside; included are farmland, field | 11 | 13.8% | |
| 3 | Engine area, running gear, wheel area | 8 | 10.0% | |
| 4 | Undetermined | 8 | 10.0% | |
| 5 | Cooking area, kitchen | 6 | 7.5% | |
| 6 | Wildland, woods | 5 | 6.2% | |
| 7 | Other | 4 | 5.0% | |
| 8 | Vehicle storage area; garage, carport | 3 | 3.8% | |
| 9 | Wall surface: exterior | 3 | 3.8% | |
| 10 | Vehicle area, other | 3 | 3.8% | |
| 11 | All other areas | 15 | 18.8% |
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 Hemlock mix.
| # | Heat source | Count | Share | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Undetermined | 25 | 31.2% | |
| 2 | Hot or smoldering object, other | 12 | 15.0% | |
| 3 | Hot ember or ash | 8 | 10.0% | |
| 4 | Heat from powered equipment, other | 6 | 7.5% | |
| 5 | Arcing | 6 | 7.5% | |
| 6 | Flame/torch used for lighting | 6 | 7.5% | |
| 7 | Spark, ember or flame from operating equipment | 4 | 5.0% | |
| 8 | Chemical reaction | 3 | 3.8% | |
| 9 | Radiated, conducted heat from operating equipment | 2 | 2.5% | |
| 10 | Lightning | 2 | 2.5% | |
| 11 | All other sources | 6 | 7.5% |
Largest single-incident property losses reported by Hemlock departments in 2025. These 3 fires alone account for 100% of the city's annual total.
| # | Property loss | Type | Severity | Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | $60,000 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
| 2 | $50,000 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
| 3 | $12,000 | Passenger vehicle fire | Significant | Investigated |
Per-capita rates let us compare apples to apples. Hemlock sits above the national average for incidents per resident.
Top 25 wildfires (1992+) in the FPA-FOD ignitions database, scaled by acres. 2,879 acres burned in this 50-mile radius. Each dot is a fire — bigger dots burned more land.
| Year | Cause | Acres | Distance | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2012 | Arson/incendiarism | 335 | 29.5 mi | |
| 1994 | Recreation and ceremony | 289 | 49.0 mi | |
| 2012 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 257 | 49.9 mi | |
| 1995 | Arson/incendiarism | 202 | 48.8 mi | |
| 2003 | Debris and open burning | 191 | 42.1 mi | |
| 2004 | Natural | 186 | 27.2 mi | |
| 2003 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 178 | 44.8 mi | |
| 2003 | Recreation and ceremony | 155 | 23.3 mi | |
| 2015 | Recreation and ceremony | 97 | 46.6 mi | |
| 2003 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 92 | 27.1 mi | |
| 1996 | Debris and open burning | 80 | 40.3 mi | |
| 1994 | Arson/incendiarism | 70 | 35.5 mi |
Top 6 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 Hemlock. Useful comparison targets — same state, similar size, different fire profile.
1 departments report to NFIRS for incidents in Hemlock.
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.