In 2025, fire departments serving Lake Odessa responded to 56 fire and hazmat incidents — from cooking fires to gas leaks to a single $450K 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 63% of all calls.
Mar peaks. Nov dips. Watch for the typical fall climb starting in October.
229 incidents 2021–2025. Peak year was 2024. $7.1M cumulative property loss.
| Year | Incidents | YoY | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2021 | 31 | — | |
| 2022 | 38 | +22.6% | |
| 2023 | 42 | +10.5% | |
| 2024 | 62 | +47.6% | |
| 2025 | 56 | -9.7% |
For the 19 building fires Lake Odessa 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 | 7 | 12.3% | |
| 2 | Vehicle area, other | 6 | 10.5% | |
| 3 | Storage area, other | 5 | 8.8% | |
| 4 | Attic: vacant, crawl space above top story, cupola | 4 | 7.0% | |
| 5 | Undetermined | 4 | 7.0% | |
| 6 | Vehicle storage area; garage, carport | 3 | 5.3% | |
| 7 | Duct: hvac, cable, exhaust, heating, or AC | 3 | 5.3% | |
| 8 | Wall surface: exterior | 3 | 5.3% | |
| 9 | Outside area, other | 3 | 5.3% | |
| 10 | Incinerator area | 2 | 3.5% | |
| 11 | All other areas | 17 | 29.8% |
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 Odessa mix.
| # | Heat source | Count | Share | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Undetermined | 17 | 29.8% | |
| 2 | Heat from powered equipment, other | 7 | 12.3% | |
| 3 | Hot or smoldering object, other | 6 | 10.5% | |
| 4 | Heat, spark from friction | 6 | 10.5% | |
| 5 | Arcing | 5 | 8.8% | |
| 6 | Heat source: other | 4 | 7.0% | |
| 7 | Spark, ember or flame from operating equipment | 4 | 7.0% | |
| 8 | Molten, hot material | 2 | 3.5% | |
| 9 | Hot ember or ash | 2 | 3.5% | |
| 10 | Heat spread from another fire, other | 2 | 3.5% | |
| 11 | All other sources | 2 | 3.5% |
Largest single-incident property losses reported by Lake Odessa departments in 2025. These 8 fires alone account for 99% of the city's annual total.
| # | Property loss | Type | Severity | Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | $450,000 | Building fires | Major | Investigated |
| 2 | $150,000 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
| 3 | $25,000 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
| 4 | $15,000 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
| 5 | $13,000 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
| 6 | $5,000 | Mobile property (vehicle) fire, other | Significant | Investigated |
| 7 | $2,500 | Fuel burner/boiler malfunction, fire confined | Significant | Investigated |
| 8 | $2,500 | Chimney or flue fire, confined to chimney or flue | Significant | Investigated |
Per-capita rates let us compare apples to apples. Lake Odessa sits above the national average for incidents per resident.
Top 25 wildfires (1992+) in the FPA-FOD ignitions database, scaled by acres. 1,914 acres burned in this 50-mile radius. Each dot is a fire — bigger dots burned more land.
| Year | Cause | Acres | Distance | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2003 | Debris and open burning | 191 | 24.5 mi | |
| 1994 | Arson/incendiarism | 150 | 22.2 mi | |
| 1996 | Arson/incendiarism | 142 | 46.8 mi | |
| 1996 | Equipment and vehicle use | 119 | 9.9 mi | |
| 2018 | Natural | 105 | 31.7 mi | |
| 1994 | Debris and open burning | 100 | 40.8 mi | |
| 1993 | Smoking | 90 | 39.1 mi | |
| 1996 | Debris and open burning | 80 | 40.4 mi | |
| 1995 | Smoking | 71 | 45.3 mi | |
| 2003 | Equipment and vehicle use | 70 | 46.2 mi | |
| 1994 | Arson/incendiarism | 70 | 48.8 mi | |
| 2011 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 66 | 45.4 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 Lake Odessa. Useful comparison targets — same state, similar size, different fire profile.
1 departments report to NFIRS for incidents in Lake Odessa.
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.