In 2025, fire departments serving Lakeview responded to 52 fire and hazmat incidents — from cooking fires to gas leaks to a single $800K 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 73% of all calls.
Jan peaks. Nov dips. Watch for the typical fall climb starting in October.
256 incidents 2021–2025. Peak year was 2023. $1.3M cumulative property loss.
| Year | Incidents | YoY | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2021 | 43 | — | |
| 2022 | 49 | +14.0% | |
| 2023 | 57 | +16.3% | |
| 2024 | 55 | -3.5% | |
| 2025 | 52 | -5.5% |
For the 9 building fires Lakeview departments responded to in 2025, here's how they were classified once investigators were finished.
NFIRS Area of Origin (AREA_ORIG) for the 31 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 | 15 | 48.4% | |
| 2 | Open area - outside; included are farmland, field | 3 | 9.7% | |
| 3 | Outside area, other | 2 | 6.5% | |
| 4 | Other | 1 | 3.2% | |
| 5 | Common room, den, family room, living room, lounge | 1 | 3.2% | |
| 6 | Bedroom - < 5 persons; included are jail or prison | 1 | 3.2% | |
| 7 | Bathroom, checkroom, lavatory, locker room | 1 | 3.2% | |
| 8 | Vehicle storage area; garage, carport | 1 | 3.2% | |
| 9 | Duct: hvac, cable, exhaust, heating, or AC | 1 | 3.2% | |
| 10 | Switchgear area, transformer vault | 1 | 3.2% | |
| 11 | All other areas | 4 | 12.9% |
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 Lakeview mix.
| # | Heat source | Count | Share | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Undetermined | 21 | 67.7% | |
| 2 | Cigarette lighter | 3 | 9.7% | |
| 3 | Heat source: other | 1 | 3.2% | |
| 4 | Heat from powered equipment, other | 1 | 3.2% | |
| 5 | Spark, ember or flame from operating equipment | 1 | 3.2% | |
| 6 | Arcing | 1 | 3.2% | |
| 7 | Hot ember or ash | 1 | 3.2% | |
| 8 | Heat from other open flame or smoking materials | 1 | 3.2% | |
| 9 | Candle | 1 | 3.2% |
Largest single-incident property losses reported by Lakeview departments in 2025. These 4 fires alone account for 100% of the city's annual total.
| # | Property loss | Type | Severity | Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | $800,000 | Building fires | Major | Investigated |
| 2 | $200,000 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
| 3 | $50,000 | Road freight or transport vehicle fire | Significant | Investigated |
| 4 | $4,000 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
Per-capita rates let us compare apples to apples. Lakeview sits above the national average for incidents per resident.
Top 25 wildfires (1992+) in the FPA-FOD ignitions database, scaled by acres. 3,697 acres burned in this 50-mile radius. Each dot is a fire — bigger dots burned more land.
| Year | Cause | Acres | Distance | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1994 | Recreation and ceremony | 910 | 39.6 mi | |
| 2003 | Arson/incendiarism | 275 | 43.3 mi | |
| 2003 | Debris and open burning | 191 | 28.2 mi | |
| 2010 | Power generation/transmission/distribution | 175 | 47.6 mi | |
| 2003 | Debris and open burning | 162 | 20.2 mi | |
| 2003 | Recreation and ceremony | 155 | 46.4 mi | |
| 2011 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 152 | 43.3 mi | |
| 1994 | Arson/incendiarism | 151 | 43.9 mi | |
| 1994 | Arson/incendiarism | 150 | 25.1 mi | |
| 1994 | Recreation and ceremony | 107 | 34.3 mi | |
| 2003 | Arson/incendiarism | 106 | 42.5 mi | |
| 2018 | Arson/incendiarism | 105 | 21.7 mi |
Top 2 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 Lakeview. Useful comparison targets — same state, similar size, different fire profile.
1 departments report to NFIRS for incidents in Lakeview.
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.