In 2025, fire departments serving Lowell responded to 88 fire and hazmat incidents — from cooking fires to gas leaks to a single $100K 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 73% of all calls.
Jul peaks. Sep dips. Watch for the typical fall climb starting in October.
465 incidents 2021–2025. Peak year was 2023. $2.1M cumulative property loss.
| Year | Incidents | YoY | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2021 | 104 | — | |
| 2022 | 57 | -45.2% | |
| 2023 | 125 | +119.3% | |
| 2024 | 91 | -27.2% | |
| 2025 | 88 | -3.3% |
For the 19 building fires Lowell departments responded to in 2025, here's how they were classified once investigators were finished.
NFIRS Area of Origin (AREA_ORIG) for the 78 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 | Cooking area, kitchen | 13 | 16.7% | |
| 2 | Undetermined | 11 | 14.1% | |
| 3 | Engine area, running gear, wheel area | 7 | 9.0% | |
| 4 | Chute/container - trash, rubbish, waste | 6 | 7.7% | |
| 5 | Other | 5 | 6.4% | |
| 6 | Outside area, other | 4 | 5.1% | |
| 7 | Open area - outside; included are farmland, field | 4 | 5.1% | |
| 8 | Wildland, woods | 4 | 5.1% | |
| 9 | Equipment or service area, other | 3 | 3.8% | |
| 10 | Exterior balcony, unenclosed porch | 3 | 3.8% | |
| 11 | All other areas | 18 | 23.1% |
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 Lowell mix.
| # | Heat source | Count | Share | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Undetermined | 29 | 37.2% | |
| 2 | Heat source: other | 9 | 11.5% | |
| 3 | Hot or smoldering object, other | 6 | 7.7% | |
| 4 | Heat from powered equipment, other | 4 | 5.1% | |
| 5 | Hot ember or ash | 4 | 5.1% | |
| 6 | Spark, ember or flame from operating equipment | 3 | 3.8% | |
| 7 | Radiated, conducted heat from operating equipment | 3 | 3.8% | |
| 8 | Heat from other open flame or smoking materials | 3 | 3.8% | |
| 9 | Heat from direct flame, convection currents | 3 | 3.8% | |
| 10 | Flying brand, ember, spark | 3 | 3.8% | |
| 11 | All other sources | 11 | 14.1% |
Largest single-incident property losses reported by Lowell departments in 2025. These 7 fires alone account for 100% of the city's annual total.
| # | Property loss | Type | Severity | Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | $100,000 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
| 2 | $60,000 | Passenger vehicle fire | Significant | Investigated |
| 3 | $25,000 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
| 4 | $5,000 | Cooking fire, confined to container | Significant | Investigated |
| 5 | $1,500 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
| 6 | $500 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
| 7 | $500 | Road freight or transport vehicle fire | Significant | Investigated |
Per-capita rates let us compare apples to apples. Lowell sits above the national average for incidents per resident.
Top 25 wildfires (1992+) in the FPA-FOD ignitions database, scaled by acres. 2,490 acres burned in this 50-mile radius. Each dot is a fire — bigger dots burned more land.
| Year | Cause | Acres | Distance | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2003 | Arson/incendiarism | 275 | 48.1 mi | |
| 2003 | Debris and open burning | 191 | 23.3 mi | |
| 2010 | Power generation/transmission/distribution | 175 | 48.3 mi | |
| 2003 | Debris and open burning | 162 | 36.1 mi | |
| 1994 | Arson/incendiarism | 150 | 10.3 mi | |
| 1996 | Equipment and vehicle use | 119 | 19.7 mi | |
| 1994 | Recreation and ceremony | 107 | 42.9 mi | |
| 2018 | Natural | 105 | 44.9 mi | |
| 2018 | Arson/incendiarism | 105 | 36.5 mi | |
| 2018 | Arson/incendiarism | 105 | 36.4 mi | |
| 1994 | Debris and open burning | 100 | 29.4 mi | |
| 2003 | Debris and open burning | 96 | 43.9 mi |
Top 4 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 Lowell. Useful comparison targets — same state, similar size, different fire profile.
1 departments report to NFIRS for incidents in Lowell.
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.