In 2025, fire departments serving Lake Orion responded to 82 fire and hazmat incidents — from cooking fires to gas leaks to a single $100K building blaze. Here's the full picture.
Gas leak (natural gas or LPG) lead by count. Building fires lead by dollars. Together the top five categories make up about 50% of all calls.
Mar peaks. Dec dips. Watch for the typical fall climb starting in October.
519 incidents 2021–2025. Peak year was 2021. $1.3M cumulative property loss.
| Year | Incidents | YoY | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2021 | 163 | — | |
| 2022 | 101 | -38.0% | |
| 2023 | 89 | -11.9% | |
| 2024 | 84 | -5.6% | |
| 2025 | 82 | -2.4% |
For the 5 building fires Lake Orion departments responded to in 2025, here's how they were classified once investigators were finished.
NFIRS Area of Origin (AREA_ORIG) for the 93 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 | 19 | 20.4% | |
| 2 | Outside area, other | 11 | 11.8% | |
| 3 | Undetermined | 9 | 9.7% | |
| 4 | Other | 7 | 7.5% | |
| 5 | Cooking area, kitchen | 6 | 6.5% | |
| 6 | Vehicle storage area; garage, carport | 3 | 3.2% | |
| 7 | Equipment or service area, other | 3 | 3.2% | |
| 8 | Substructure area or space, crawl space | 3 | 3.2% | |
| 9 | Open area - outside; included are farmland, field | 3 | 3.2% | |
| 10 | Dining room, cafeteria bar area, beverage service | 2 | 2.2% | |
| 11 | All other areas | 27 | 29.0% |
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 Orion mix.
| # | Heat source | Count | Share | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Undetermined | 40 | 43.0% | |
| 2 | Heat from powered equipment, other | 10 | 10.8% | |
| 3 | Arcing | 8 | 8.6% | |
| 4 | Radiated, conducted heat from operating equipment | 7 | 7.5% | |
| 5 | Hot or smoldering object, other | 5 | 5.4% | |
| 6 | Hot ember or ash | 4 | 4.3% | |
| 7 | Cigarette lighter | 3 | 3.2% | |
| 8 | Heat source: other | 2 | 2.2% | |
| 9 | Cigarette | 2 | 2.2% | |
| 10 | Flame/torch used for lighting | 2 | 2.2% | |
| 11 | All other sources | 10 | 10.8% |
Largest single-incident property losses reported by Lake Orion departments in 2025. These 8 fires alone account for 100% of the city's annual total.
| # | Property loss | Type | Severity | Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | $100,000 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
| 2 | $25,000 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
| 3 | $6,100 | Passenger vehicle fire | Significant | Investigated |
| 4 | $5,000 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
| 5 | $5,000 | Fire in mobile home used as fixed residence | Significant | Investigated |
| 6 | $5,000 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
| 7 | $1,000 | Passenger vehicle fire | Significant | Investigated |
| 8 | $1,000 | Passenger vehicle fire | Significant | Investigated |
Per-capita rates let us compare apples to apples. Lake Orion sits above the national average for incidents per resident.
Top 25 wildfires (1992+) in the FPA-FOD ignitions database, scaled by acres. 1,029 acres burned in this 50-mile radius. Each dot is a fire — bigger dots burned more land.
| Year | Cause | Acres | Distance | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2020 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 143 | 43.6 mi | |
| 2018 | Equipment and vehicle use | 100 | 37.9 mi | |
| 2012 | Smoking | 64 | 23.4 mi | |
| 2003 | Debris and open burning | 53 | 32.1 mi | |
| 2017 | Power generation/transmission/distribution | 51 | 43.6 mi | |
| 2015 | Equipment and vehicle use | 50 | 47.0 mi | |
| 2020 | Debris and open burning | 50 | 23.8 mi | |
| 2019 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 49 | 13.0 mi | |
| 2019 | Equipment and vehicle use | 45 | 42.2 mi | |
| 1994 | Recreation and ceremony | 38 | 30.6 mi | |
| 2020 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 37 | 28.4 mi | |
| 2003 | Equipment and vehicle use | 33 | 24.2 mi |
Top 5 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 Orion. Useful comparison targets — same state, similar size, different fire profile.
1 departments report to NFIRS for incidents in Lake Orion.
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.