In 2025, fire departments serving Linden responded to 103 fire and hazmat incidents — from cooking fires to gas leaks to a single $150K 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 84% of all calls.
Jul peaks. Dec dips. Watch for the typical fall climb starting in October.
441 incidents 2021–2025. Peak year was 2025. $1.2M cumulative property loss.
| Year | Incidents | YoY | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2021 | 93 | — | |
| 2022 | 76 | -18.3% | |
| 2023 | 72 | -5.3% | |
| 2024 | 97 | +34.7% | |
| 2025 | 103 | +6.2% |
For the 53 building fires Linden departments responded to in 2025, here's how they were classified once investigators were finished.
NFIRS Area of Origin (AREA_ORIG) for the 76 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 | Vehicle storage area; garage, carport | 9 | 11.8% | |
| 2 | Cooking area, kitchen | 7 | 9.2% | |
| 3 | Engine area, running gear, wheel area | 7 | 9.2% | |
| 4 | Open area - outside; included are farmland, field | 6 | 7.9% | |
| 5 | Undetermined | 6 | 7.9% | |
| 6 | Outside area, other | 5 | 6.6% | |
| 7 | Exterior balcony, unenclosed porch | 4 | 5.3% | |
| 8 | Bedroom - < 5 persons; included are jail or prison | 3 | 3.9% | |
| 9 | Substructure area or space, crawl space | 3 | 3.9% | |
| 10 | Wall surface: exterior | 3 | 3.9% | |
| 11 | All other areas | 23 | 30.3% |
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 Linden mix.
| # | Heat source | Count | Share | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Undetermined | 23 | 30.3% | |
| 2 | Arcing | 13 | 17.1% | |
| 3 | Radiated, conducted heat from operating equipment | 10 | 13.2% | |
| 4 | Heat from powered equipment, other | 6 | 7.9% | |
| 5 | Hot or smoldering object, other | 4 | 5.3% | |
| 6 | Spark, ember or flame from operating equipment | 2 | 2.6% | |
| 7 | Hot ember or ash | 2 | 2.6% | |
| 8 | Heat from other open flame or smoking materials | 2 | 2.6% | |
| 9 | Flame/torch used for lighting | 2 | 2.6% | |
| 10 | Radiated heat from another fire | 2 | 2.6% | |
| 11 | All other sources | 10 | 13.2% |
Largest single-incident property losses reported by Linden departments in 2025. These 3 fires alone account for 100% of the city's annual total.
| # | Property loss | Type | Severity | Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | $150,000 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
| 2 | $10,000 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
| 3 | $500 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
Per-capita rates let us compare apples to apples. Linden sits above the national average for incidents per resident.
Top 25 wildfires (1992+) in the FPA-FOD ignitions database, scaled by acres. 1,554 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 | 18.4 mi | |
| 1996 | Arson/incendiarism | 142 | 33.0 mi | |
| 2018 | Equipment and vehicle use | 100 | 18.1 mi | |
| 1996 | Debris and open burning | 98 | 46.2 mi | |
| 1996 | Arson/incendiarism | 96 | 42.0 mi | |
| 1996 | Debris and open burning | 80 | 28.5 mi | |
| 2003 | Equipment and vehicle use | 70 | 25.7 mi | |
| 2012 | Smoking | 64 | 35.7 mi | |
| 2019 | Equipment and vehicle use | 61 | 44.8 mi | |
| 1994 | Debris and open burning | 60 | 22.7 mi | |
| 2017 | Power generation/transmission/distribution | 51 | 18.3 mi | |
| 2015 | Equipment and vehicle use | 50 | 27.5 mi |
Top 6 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 Linden. Useful comparison targets — same state, similar size, different fire profile.
2 departments report to NFIRS for incidents in Linden.
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.