In 2025, fire departments serving Ida responded to 36 fire and hazmat incidents — from cooking fires to gas leaks to a single $50K 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 86% of all calls.
Apr peaks. Jan dips. Watch for the typical fall climb starting in October.
224 incidents 2021–2025. Peak year was 2021. $426K cumulative property loss.
| Year | Incidents | YoY | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2021 | 61 | — | |
| 2022 | 39 | -36.1% | |
| 2023 | 58 | +48.7% | |
| 2024 | 30 | -48.3% | |
| 2025 | 36 | +20.0% |
For the 11 building fires Ida departments responded to in 2025, here's how they were classified once investigators were finished.
NFIRS Area of Origin (AREA_ORIG) for the 65 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 | Open area - outside; included are farmland, field | 16 | 24.6% | |
| 2 | Outside area, other | 11 | 16.9% | |
| 3 | Wildland, woods | 8 | 12.3% | |
| 4 | Undetermined | 8 | 12.3% | |
| 5 | Engine area, running gear, wheel area | 6 | 9.2% | |
| 6 | Vehicle area, other | 3 | 4.6% | |
| 7 | Other | 2 | 3.1% | |
| 8 | Substructure area or space, crawl space | 2 | 3.1% | |
| 9 | Wall surface: exterior | 2 | 3.1% | |
| 10 | Cooking area, kitchen | 1 | 1.5% | |
| 11 | All other areas | 6 | 9.2% |
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 Ida mix.
| # | Heat source | Count | Share | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Undetermined | 19 | 29.2% | |
| 2 | Hot ember or ash | 10 | 15.4% | |
| 3 | Spark, ember or flame from operating equipment | 8 | 12.3% | |
| 4 | Arcing | 5 | 7.7% | |
| 5 | Heat from other open flame or smoking materials | 4 | 6.2% | |
| 6 | Heat source: other | 3 | 4.6% | |
| 7 | Heat from powered equipment, other | 3 | 4.6% | |
| 8 | Flame/torch used for lighting | 3 | 4.6% | |
| 9 | Radiated, conducted heat from operating equipment | 2 | 3.1% | |
| 10 | Hot or smoldering object, other | 2 | 3.1% | |
| 11 | All other sources | 6 | 9.2% |
Largest single-incident property losses reported by Ida departments in 2025. These 3 fires alone account for 100% of the city's annual total.
| # | Property loss | Type | Severity | Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | $50,000 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
| 2 | $2,000 | Grass fire | Significant | Investigated |
| 3 | $200 | Brush, or brush and grass mixture fire | Significant | Investigated |
Per-capita rates let us compare apples to apples. Ida sits above the national average for incidents per resident.
Top 25 wildfires (1992+) in the FPA-FOD ignitions database, scaled by acres. 1,245 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 | 19.2 mi | |
| 1996 | Debris and open burning | 98 | 31.6 mi | |
| 1996 | Arson/incendiarism | 96 | 44.3 mi | |
| 2019 | Equipment and vehicle use | 80 | 4.5 mi | |
| 2005 | Debris and open burning | 77 | 9.9 mi | |
| 2010 | Arson/incendiarism | 69 | 12.3 mi | |
| 2015 | Equipment and vehicle use | 50 | 47.7 mi | |
| 2010 | Arson/incendiarism | 42 | 21.4 mi | |
| 2019 | Debris and open burning | 40 | 33.4 mi | |
| 2018 | Equipment and vehicle use | 40 | 47.6 mi | |
| 1994 | Recreation and ceremony | 38 | 42.3 mi | |
| 1996 | Arson/incendiarism | 36 | 44.3 mi |
Top 3 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 Ida. Useful comparison targets — same state, similar size, different fire profile.
1 departments report to NFIRS for incidents in Ida.
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.