In 2025, fire departments serving Jenison responded to 117 fire and hazmat incidents — from cooking fires to gas leaks to a single $1.5M building blaze. Here's the full picture.
Unauthorized burning lead by count. Building fires lead by dollars. Together the top five categories make up about 65% of all calls.
Nov peaks. Dec dips. Watch for the typical fall climb starting in October.
527 incidents 2021–2025. Peak year was 2024. $2.6M cumulative property loss.
| Year | Incidents | YoY | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2021 | 92 | — | |
| 2022 | 101 | +9.8% | |
| 2023 | 99 | -2.0% | |
| 2024 | 118 | +19.2% | |
| 2025 | 117 | -0.8% |
For the 14 building fires Jenison 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 | 10 | 17.5% | |
| 3 | Cooking area, kitchen | 5 | 8.8% | |
| 4 | Vehicle storage area; garage, carport | 5 | 8.8% | |
| 5 | Outside area, other | 3 | 5.3% | |
| 6 | Bedroom - < 5 persons; included are jail or prison | 2 | 3.5% | |
| 7 | Processing/manufacturing area, workroom | 2 | 3.5% | |
| 8 | Storage room, area, tank, or bin | 2 | 3.5% | |
| 9 | Attic: vacant, crawl space above top story, cupola | 2 | 3.5% | |
| 10 | Wall assembly | 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 Jenison mix.
| # | Heat source | Count | Share | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Undetermined | 33 | 57.9% | |
| 2 | Arcing | 6 | 10.5% | |
| 3 | Radiated, conducted heat from operating equipment | 5 | 8.8% | |
| 4 | Spark, ember or flame from operating equipment | 2 | 3.5% | |
| 5 | Hot or smoldering object, other | 2 | 3.5% | |
| 6 | Heat from other open flame or smoking materials | 2 | 3.5% | |
| 7 | Heat source: other | 1 | 1.8% | |
| 8 | Heat from powered equipment, other | 1 | 1.8% | |
| 9 | Heat, spark from friction | 1 | 1.8% | |
| 10 | Heat from undetermined smoking material | 1 | 1.8% | |
| 11 | All other sources | 3 | 5.3% |
Largest single-incident property losses reported by Jenison departments in 2025. These 8 fires alone account for 100% of the city's annual total.
| # | Property loss | Type | Severity | Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | $1,500,000 | Building fires | Major | Investigated |
| 2 | $350,000 | Building fires | Major | Investigated |
| 3 | $100,000 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
| 4 | $100,000 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
| 5 | $75,000 | Outside storage fire | Significant | Investigated |
| 6 | $25,000 | Outside rubbish, trash or waste fire | Significant | Investigated |
| 7 | $5,000 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
| 8 | $5,000 | Special outside fire, other | Significant | Investigated |
Per-capita rates let us compare apples to apples. Jenison sits below the national average for incidents per resident.
Top 25 wildfires (1992+) in the FPA-FOD ignitions database, scaled by acres. 2,634 acres burned in this 50-mile radius. Each dot is a fire — bigger dots burned more land.
| Year | Cause | Acres | Distance | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2003 | Arson/incendiarism | 275 | 33.3 mi | |
| 2003 | Debris and open burning | 191 | 46.4 mi | |
| 2010 | Power generation/transmission/distribution | 175 | 30.8 mi | |
| 2003 | Debris and open burning | 162 | 35.0 mi | |
| 1994 | Arson/incendiarism | 151 | 41.6 mi | |
| 1994 | Arson/incendiarism | 150 | 29.1 mi | |
| 1996 | Equipment and vehicle use | 119 | 34.2 mi | |
| 1994 | Recreation and ceremony | 107 | 32.8 mi | |
| 2003 | Arson/incendiarism | 106 | 44.4 mi | |
| 2018 | Arson/incendiarism | 105 | 34.4 mi | |
| 2018 | Arson/incendiarism | 105 | 34.4 mi | |
| 1994 | Debris and open burning | 100 | 40.6 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 | 49428 | 527 |
Six Michigan cities with population within ±25% of Jenison. Useful comparison targets — same state, similar size, different fire profile.
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.