In 2025, fire departments serving Leslie responded to 63 fire and hazmat incidents — from cooking fires to gas leaks to a single $120K 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 64% of all calls.
Mar peaks. Dec dips. Watch for the typical fall climb starting in October.
296 incidents 2021–2025. Peak year was 2021. $1.2M cumulative property loss.
| Year | Incidents | YoY | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2021 | 85 | — | |
| 2022 | 55 | -35.3% | |
| 2023 | 49 | -10.9% | |
| 2024 | 44 | -10.2% | |
| 2025 | 63 | +43.2% |
For the 8 building fires Leslie departments responded to in 2025, here's how they were classified once investigators were finished.
NFIRS Area of Origin (AREA_ORIG) for the 61 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 | 12 | 19.7% | |
| 2 | Outside area, other | 12 | 19.7% | |
| 3 | Open area - outside; included are farmland, field | 8 | 13.1% | |
| 4 | Undetermined | 5 | 8.2% | |
| 5 | Other | 3 | 4.9% | |
| 6 | Cooking area, kitchen | 3 | 4.9% | |
| 7 | Bathroom, checkroom, lavatory, locker room | 2 | 3.3% | |
| 8 | Storage area, other | 2 | 3.3% | |
| 9 | Exterior balcony, unenclosed porch | 2 | 3.3% | |
| 10 | Egress/exit, other | 1 | 1.6% | |
| 11 | All other areas | 11 | 18.0% |
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 Leslie mix.
| # | Heat source | Count | Share | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Undetermined | 24 | 39.3% | |
| 2 | Radiated, conducted heat from operating equipment | 5 | 8.2% | |
| 3 | Arcing | 5 | 8.2% | |
| 4 | Heat source: other | 4 | 6.6% | |
| 5 | Hot ember or ash | 4 | 6.6% | |
| 6 | Heat from powered equipment, other | 3 | 4.9% | |
| 7 | Spark, ember or flame from operating equipment | 3 | 4.9% | |
| 8 | Heat, spark from friction | 2 | 3.3% | |
| 9 | Heat from other open flame or smoking materials | 2 | 3.3% | |
| 10 | Cigarette | 2 | 3.3% | |
| 11 | All other sources | 7 | 11.5% |
Largest single-incident property losses reported by Leslie departments in 2025. These 8 fires alone account for 100% of the city's annual total.
| # | Property loss | Type | Severity | Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | $120,000 | Road freight or transport vehicle fire | Significant | Investigated |
| 2 | $100,000 | Off-road vehicle or heavy equipment fire | Significant | Investigated |
| 3 | $10,000 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
| 4 | $10,000 | Passenger vehicle fire | Significant | Investigated |
| 5 | $5,000 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
| 6 | $5,000 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
| 7 | $2,500 | Self-propelled motor home or recreational vehicle | Significant | Investigated |
| 8 | $500 | Off-road vehicle or heavy equipment fire | Significant | Investigated |
Per-capita rates let us compare apples to apples. Leslie sits above the national average for incidents per resident.
Top 25 wildfires (1992+) in the FPA-FOD ignitions database, scaled by acres. 1,731 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 | 23.7 mi | |
| 1996 | Arson/incendiarism | 142 | 8.8 mi | |
| 1996 | Equipment and vehicle use | 119 | 43.6 mi | |
| 2018 | Natural | 105 | 30.5 mi | |
| 2018 | Equipment and vehicle use | 100 | 26.7 mi | |
| 1996 | Debris and open burning | 98 | 26.5 mi | |
| 1996 | Arson/incendiarism | 96 | 13.7 mi | |
| 1996 | Debris and open burning | 80 | 27.3 mi | |
| 2003 | Equipment and vehicle use | 70 | 17.7 mi | |
| 2019 | Equipment and vehicle use | 61 | 48.7 mi | |
| 1994 | Debris and open burning | 60 | 27.1 mi | |
| 2015 | Debris and open burning | 57 | 41.0 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 Leslie. Useful comparison targets — same state, similar size, different fire profile.
1 departments report to NFIRS for incidents in Leslie.
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.