In 2025, fire departments serving Lake City responded to 82 fire and hazmat incidents — from cooking fires to gas leaks to a single $351K building blaze. Here's the full picture.
Power line down lead by count. Building fires lead by dollars. Together the top five categories make up about 66% of all calls.
Feb peaks. Sep dips. Watch for the typical fall climb starting in October.
490 incidents 2021–2025. Peak year was 2021. $3.6M cumulative property loss. 2 civilian deaths.
| Year | Incidents | YoY | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2021 | 121 | — | |
| 2022 | 118 | -2.5% | |
| 2023 | 91 | -22.9% | |
| 2024 | 78 | -14.3% | |
| 2025 | 82 | +5.1% |
For the 17 building fires Lake City departments responded to in 2025, here's how they were classified once investigators were finished.
NFIRS Area of Origin (AREA_ORIG) for the 121 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 | 41 | 33.9% | |
| 2 | Open area - outside; included are farmland, field | 9 | 7.4% | |
| 3 | Outside area, other | 8 | 6.6% | |
| 4 | Vehicle area, other | 7 | 5.8% | |
| 5 | Engine area, running gear, wheel area | 6 | 5.0% | |
| 6 | Wildland, woods | 6 | 5.0% | |
| 7 | Cooking area, kitchen | 5 | 4.1% | |
| 8 | Storage area, other | 5 | 4.1% | |
| 9 | Common room, den, family room, living room, lounge | 4 | 3.3% | |
| 10 | Vehicle storage area; garage, carport | 4 | 3.3% | |
| 11 | All other areas | 26 | 21.5% |
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 Lake City mix.
| # | Heat source | Count | Share | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Undetermined | 64 | 52.9% | |
| 2 | Arcing | 10 | 8.3% | |
| 3 | Heat from powered equipment, other | 9 | 7.4% | |
| 4 | Hot ember or ash | 7 | 5.8% | |
| 5 | Hot or smoldering object, other | 6 | 5.0% | |
| 6 | Spark, ember or flame from operating equipment | 4 | 3.3% | |
| 7 | Heat from other open flame or smoking materials | 4 | 3.3% | |
| 8 | Heat spread from another fire, other | 4 | 3.3% | |
| 9 | Radiated, conducted heat from operating equipment | 3 | 2.5% | |
| 10 | Heat source: other | 2 | 1.7% | |
| 11 | All other sources | 8 | 6.6% |
Largest single-incident property losses reported by Lake City departments in 2025. These 8 fires alone account for 98% of the city's annual total.
| # | Property loss | Type | Severity | Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | $350,500 | Building fires | Major | Investigated |
| 2 | $197,000 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
| 3 | $150,000 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
| 4 | $120,500 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
| 5 | $100,000 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
| 6 | $100,000 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
| 7 | $100,000 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
| 8 | $50,000 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
Per-capita rates let us compare apples to apples. Lake City sits above the national average for incidents per resident.
Top 25 wildfires (1992+) in the FPA-FOD ignitions database, scaled by acres. 25,744 acres burned in this 50-mile radius. Each dot is a fire — bigger dots burned more land.
| Year | Cause | Acres | Distance | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2010 | Debris and open burning | 8,586 | 44.1 mi | |
| 2016 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 2,250 | 47.9 mi | |
| 2018 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 1,900 | 45.1 mi | |
| 2005 | Equipment and vehicle use | 1,557 | 29.6 mi | |
| 2008 | Railroad operations and maintenance | 1,345 | 32.7 mi | |
| 1998 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 1,238 | 44.0 mi | |
| 2010 | Debris and open burning | 1,040 | 27.2 mi | |
| 1994 | Recreation and ceremony | 910 | 48.2 mi | |
| 2015 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 844 | 41.5 mi | |
| 2011 | Power generation/transmission/distribution | 817 | 33.1 mi | |
| 1995 | Arson/incendiarism | 778 | 45.9 mi | |
| 2003 | Debris and open burning | 764 | 33.0 mi |
Top 4 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 Lake City. Useful comparison targets — same state, similar size, different fire profile.
3 departments report to NFIRS for incidents in Lake City.
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.