In 2025, fire departments serving Ishpeming responded to 65 fire and hazmat incidents — from cooking fires to gas leaks to a single $180K 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 55% of all calls.
May peaks. Apr dips. Watch for the typical fall climb starting in October.
384 incidents 2021–2025. Peak year was 2022. $1.1M cumulative property loss. 2 civilian deaths.
| Year | Incidents | YoY | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2021 | 67 | — | |
| 2022 | 105 | +56.7% | |
| 2023 | 76 | -27.6% | |
| 2024 | 71 | -6.6% | |
| 2025 | 65 | -8.5% |
For the 10 building fires Ishpeming departments responded to in 2025, here's how they were classified once investigators were finished.
NFIRS Area of Origin (AREA_ORIG) for the 57 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 | Engine area, running gear, wheel area | 12 | 21.1% | |
| 2 | Undetermined | 11 | 19.3% | |
| 3 | Heating room or area, water heater area | 5 | 8.8% | |
| 4 | Other | 3 | 5.3% | |
| 5 | Bedroom - < 5 persons; included are jail or prison | 3 | 5.3% | |
| 6 | Cooking area, kitchen | 3 | 5.3% | |
| 7 | Laundry area, wash house (laundry) | 2 | 3.5% | |
| 8 | Vehicle area, other | 2 | 3.5% | |
| 9 | Exterior, exposed surface | 2 | 3.5% | |
| 10 | Highway, parking lot, street: on or near | 2 | 3.5% | |
| 11 | All other areas | 12 | 21.1% |
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 Ishpeming mix.
| # | Heat source | Count | Share | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Undetermined | 27 | 47.4% | |
| 2 | Heat from powered equipment, other | 11 | 19.3% | |
| 3 | Heat source: other | 4 | 7.0% | |
| 4 | Radiated, conducted heat from operating equipment | 2 | 3.5% | |
| 5 | Cigarette | 2 | 3.5% | |
| 6 | Flame/torch used for lighting | 2 | 3.5% | |
| 7 | Heat from direct flame, convection currents | 2 | 3.5% | |
| 8 | Spark, ember or flame from operating equipment | 1 | 1.8% | |
| 9 | Arcing | 1 | 1.8% | |
| 10 | Hot or smoldering object, other | 1 | 1.8% | |
| 11 | All other sources | 4 | 7.0% |
Largest single-incident property losses reported by Ishpeming departments in 2025. These 8 fires alone account for 100% of the city's annual total.
| # | Property loss | Type | Severity | Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | $180,000 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
| 2 | $75,000 | Fire in mobile home used as fixed residence | Significant | Investigated |
| 3 | $15,000 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
| 4 | $13,000 | Passenger vehicle fire | Significant | Investigated |
| 5 | $5,000 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
| 6 | $3,000 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
| 7 | $2,500 | Natural vegetation fire, other | Significant | Investigated |
| 8 | $1,000 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
Per-capita rates let us compare apples to apples. Ishpeming sits above the national average for incidents per resident.
Top 25 wildfires (1992+) in the FPA-FOD ignitions database, scaled by acres. 9,911 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 | 14.6 mi | |
| 2007 | Debris and open burning | 1,127 | 45.4 mi | |
| 2009 | Power generation/transmission/distribution | 806 | 8.8 mi | |
| 2009 | Debris and open burning | 700 | 39.7 mi | |
| 1996 | Railroad operations and maintenance | 154 | 12.9 mi | |
| 1994 | Equipment and vehicle use | 148 | 49.2 mi | |
| 2007 | Railroad operations and maintenance | 134 | 41.1 mi | |
| 2010 | Debris and open burning | 129 | 48.7 mi | |
| 1994 | Arson/incendiarism | 103 | 17.6 mi | |
| 2007 | Railroad operations and maintenance | 97 | 41.9 mi | |
| 1994 | Equipment and vehicle use | 87 | 27.0 mi | |
| 2009 | Recreation and ceremony | 85 | 32.8 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 Ishpeming. Useful comparison targets — same state, similar size, different fire profile.
2 departments report to NFIRS for incidents in Ishpeming.
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.