In 2025, fire departments serving Iron River responded to 39 fire and hazmat incidents . 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 67% of all calls.
May peaks. Oct dips. Watch for the typical fall climb starting in October.
181 incidents 2021–2025. Peak year was 2022. $309K cumulative property loss.
| Year | Incidents | YoY | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2021 | 25 | — | |
| 2022 | 44 | +76.0% | |
| 2023 | 30 | -31.8% | |
| 2024 | 43 | +43.3% | |
| 2025 | 39 | -9.3% |
For the 1 building fires Iron River departments responded to in 2025, here's how they were classified once investigators were finished.
NFIRS Area of Origin (AREA_ORIG) for the 53 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 | 15 | 28.3% | |
| 2 | Engine area, running gear, wheel area | 8 | 15.1% | |
| 3 | Vehicle area, other | 4 | 7.5% | |
| 4 | Wall surface: exterior | 3 | 5.7% | |
| 5 | Courtyard, patio, porch, terrace | 3 | 5.7% | |
| 6 | Bedroom - < 5 persons; included are jail or prison | 2 | 3.8% | |
| 7 | Cooking area, kitchen | 2 | 3.8% | |
| 8 | Storage area, other | 2 | 3.8% | |
| 9 | Exterior balcony, unenclosed porch | 2 | 3.8% | |
| 10 | Attic: vacant, crawl space above top story, cupola | 2 | 3.8% | |
| 11 | All other areas | 10 | 18.9% |
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 Iron River mix.
| # | Heat source | Count | Share | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Undetermined | 36 | 67.9% | |
| 2 | Hot ember or ash | 4 | 7.5% | |
| 3 | Spark, ember or flame from operating equipment | 3 | 5.7% | |
| 4 | Lightning | 3 | 5.7% | |
| 5 | Heat source: other | 2 | 3.8% | |
| 6 | Cigarette | 2 | 3.8% | |
| 7 | Heat from powered equipment, other | 1 | 1.9% | |
| 8 | Radiated, conducted heat from operating equipment | 1 | 1.9% | |
| 9 | Fireworks | 1 | 1.9% |
Per-capita rates let us compare apples to apples. Iron River sits above the national average for incidents per resident.
Top 25 wildfires (1992+) in the FPA-FOD ignitions database, scaled by acres. 10,017 acres burned in this 50-mile radius. Each dot is a fire — bigger dots burned more land.
| Year | Cause | Acres | Distance | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1999 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 5,625 | 39.7 mi | |
| 2007 | Debris and open burning | 1,127 | 34.1 mi | |
| 2009 | Power generation/transmission/distribution | 806 | 45.6 mi | |
| 2009 | Debris and open burning | 700 | 47.1 mi | |
| 1994 | Equipment and vehicle use | 148 | 47.7 mi | |
| 2007 | Railroad operations and maintenance | 134 | 16.4 mi | |
| 2010 | Debris and open burning | 129 | 13.4 mi | |
| 2020 | Railroad operations and maintenance | 103 | 38.9 mi | |
| 1994 | Arson/incendiarism | 103 | 39.3 mi | |
| 2000 | Debris and open burning | 98 | 38.9 mi | |
| 2007 | Railroad operations and maintenance | 97 | 19.6 mi | |
| 1994 | Equipment and vehicle use | 87 | 39.5 mi |
Top 2 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 Iron River. Useful comparison targets — same state, similar size, different fire profile.
2 departments report to NFIRS for incidents in Iron River.
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.