In 2025, fire departments serving Kingsley responded to 57 fire and hazmat incidents — from cooking fires to gas leaks to a single $330K 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 72% of all calls.
Nov peaks. Jul dips. Watch for the typical fall climb starting in October.
270 incidents 2021–2025. Peak year was 2022. $637K cumulative property loss.
| Year | Incidents | YoY | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2021 | 49 | — | |
| 2022 | 73 | +49.0% | |
| 2023 | 41 | -43.8% | |
| 2024 | 50 | +22.0% | |
| 2025 | 57 | +14.0% |
For the 17 building fires Kingsley departments responded to in 2025, here's how they were classified once investigators were finished.
NFIRS Area of Origin (AREA_ORIG) for the 34 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 | 5 | 14.7% | |
| 2 | Cooking area, kitchen | 3 | 8.8% | |
| 3 | Heating room or area, water heater area | 3 | 8.8% | |
| 4 | Vehicle area, other | 3 | 8.8% | |
| 5 | Outside area, other | 2 | 5.9% | |
| 6 | Open area - outside; included are farmland, field | 2 | 5.9% | |
| 7 | Other | 1 | 2.9% | |
| 8 | Common room, den, family room, living room, lounge | 1 | 2.9% | |
| 9 | Bedroom - < 5 persons; included are jail or prison | 1 | 2.9% | |
| 10 | Bathroom, checkroom, lavatory, locker room | 1 | 2.9% | |
| 11 | All other areas | 12 | 35.3% |
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 Kingsley mix.
| # | Heat source | Count | Share | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Radiated, conducted heat from operating equipment | 5 | 14.7% | |
| 2 | Heat source: other | 4 | 11.8% | |
| 3 | Spark, ember or flame from operating equipment | 4 | 11.8% | |
| 4 | Arcing | 4 | 11.8% | |
| 5 | Undetermined | 4 | 11.8% | |
| 6 | Heat from powered equipment, other | 3 | 8.8% | |
| 7 | Hot or smoldering object, other | 3 | 8.8% | |
| 8 | Molten, hot material | 1 | 2.9% | |
| 9 | Hot ember or ash | 1 | 2.9% | |
| 10 | Cigarette | 1 | 2.9% | |
| 11 | All other sources | 4 | 11.8% |
Largest single-incident property losses reported by Kingsley departments in 2025. These 6 fires alone account for 100% of the city's annual total.
| # | Property loss | Type | Severity | Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | $330,000 | Building fires | Major | Investigated |
| 2 | $50,000 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
| 3 | $25,000 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
| 4 | $16,000 | Passenger vehicle fire | Significant | Investigated |
| 5 | $10,000 | Forest, woods or wildland fire | Significant | Investigated |
| 6 | $5,000 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
Per-capita rates let us compare apples to apples. Kingsley sits above the national average for incidents per resident.
Top 25 wildfires (1992+) in the FPA-FOD ignitions database, scaled by acres. 9,103 acres burned in this 50-mile radius. Each dot is a fire — bigger dots burned more land.
| Year | Cause | Acres | Distance | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2018 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 1,900 | 48.6 mi | |
| 2008 | Railroad operations and maintenance | 1,345 | 41.6 mi | |
| 2010 | Debris and open burning | 1,040 | 33.4 mi | |
| 2015 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 844 | 47.8 mi | |
| 2011 | Power generation/transmission/distribution | 817 | 36.7 mi | |
| 2003 | Debris and open burning | 764 | 29.4 mi | |
| 1995 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 250 | 48.4 mi | |
| 1995 | Natural | 200 | 42.6 mi | |
| 1995 | Arson/incendiarism | 200 | 35.2 mi | |
| 2004 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 153 | 42.7 mi | |
| 2011 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 152 | 41.8 mi | |
| 1994 | Debris and open burning | 148 | 14.2 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 | 49649 | 270 |
Six Michigan cities with population within ±25% of Kingsley. 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.