In 2025, fire departments serving Kingsford responded to 12 fire and hazmat incidents — from cooking fires to gas leaks to a single $366K 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 100% of all calls.
Nov peaks. Apr dips. Watch for the typical fall climb starting in October.
57 incidents 2021–2025. Peak year was 2021. $1.6M cumulative property loss. 1 civilian deaths.
| Year | Incidents | YoY | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2021 | 21 | — | |
| 2022 | 11 | -47.6% | |
| 2023 | 8 | -27.3% | |
| 2024* | 5 | — | |
| 2025 | 12 | — |
* Well below Kingsford's usual volume. That almost always means one or more departments didn't submit a full year to NFIRS, not that fires dropped, so no year-over-year change is shown for it.
For the 8 building fires Kingsford departments responded to in 2025, here's how they were classified once investigators were finished.
NFIRS Area of Origin (AREA_ORIG) for the 35 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 | 6 | 17.1% | |
| 2 | Cooking area, kitchen | 4 | 11.4% | |
| 3 | Engine area, running gear, wheel area | 3 | 8.6% | |
| 4 | Undetermined | 3 | 8.6% | |
| 5 | Other | 2 | 5.7% | |
| 6 | Function area, other | 2 | 5.7% | |
| 7 | Attic: vacant, crawl space above top story, cupola | 2 | 5.7% | |
| 8 | Wall assembly | 2 | 5.7% | |
| 9 | Bedroom - 5+ persons; including barrack/dormitory | 1 | 2.9% | |
| 10 | Laundry area, wash house (laundry) | 1 | 2.9% | |
| 11 | All other areas | 9 | 25.7% |
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 Kingsford mix.
| # | Heat source | Count | Share | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Undetermined | 9 | 25.7% | |
| 2 | Heat from powered equipment, other | 8 | 22.9% | |
| 3 | Hot or smoldering object, other | 6 | 17.1% | |
| 4 | Spark, ember or flame from operating equipment | 3 | 8.6% | |
| 5 | Hot ember or ash | 2 | 5.7% | |
| 6 | Candle | 2 | 5.7% | |
| 7 | Heat source: other | 1 | 2.9% | |
| 8 | Arcing | 1 | 2.9% | |
| 9 | Heat, spark from friction | 1 | 2.9% | |
| 10 | Explosive, fireworks, other | 1 | 2.9% | |
| 11 | All other sources | 1 | 2.9% |
Largest single-incident property losses reported by Kingsford departments in 2025. These 7 fires alone account for 100% of the city's annual total.
| # | Property loss | Type | Severity | Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | $366,100 | Building fires | Major | Investigated |
| 2 | $140,000 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
| 3 | $50,000 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
| 4 | $10,000 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
| 5 | $6,000 | Fire, other | Significant | Investigated |
| 6 | $5,000 | Chimney or flue fire, confined to chimney or flue | Significant | Investigated |
| 7 | $5,000 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
Per-capita rates let us compare apples to apples. Kingsford sits below the national average for incidents per resident.
Top 25 wildfires (1992+) in the FPA-FOD ignitions database, scaled by acres. 8,274 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 | 43.5 mi | |
| 2009 | Power generation/transmission/distribution | 806 | 43.0 mi | |
| 2007 | Railroad operations and maintenance | 134 | 39.5 mi | |
| 2010 | Debris and open burning | 129 | 19.5 mi | |
| 2014 | Natural | 110 | 41.3 mi | |
| 2015 | Arson/incendiarism | 103 | 39.6 mi | |
| 2020 | Railroad operations and maintenance | 103 | 6.8 mi | |
| 1994 | Arson/incendiarism | 103 | 34.0 mi | |
| 2007 | Railroad operations and maintenance | 97 | 44.1 mi | |
| 2007 | Arson/incendiarism | 94 | 49.8 mi | |
| 1994 | Equipment and vehicle use | 87 | 25.0 mi | |
| 2009 | Recreation and ceremony | 85 | 24.7 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 Kingsford. 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.