In 2025, fire departments serving Ludington responded to 123 fire and hazmat incidents — from cooking fires to gas leaks to a single $200K 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 81% of all calls.
Nov peaks. Jan dips. Watch for the typical fall climb starting in October.
650 incidents 2021–2025. Peak year was 2021. $1.1M cumulative property loss.
| Year | Incidents | YoY | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2021 | 166 | — | |
| 2022 | 94 | -43.4% | |
| 2023 | 118 | +25.5% | |
| 2024 | 149 | +26.3% | |
| 2025 | 123 | -17.4% |
For the 26 building fires Ludington departments responded to in 2025, here's how they were classified once investigators were finished.
NFIRS Area of Origin (AREA_ORIG) for the 79 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 | 18 | 22.8% | |
| 2 | Cooking area, kitchen | 11 | 13.9% | |
| 3 | Engine area, running gear, wheel area | 8 | 10.1% | |
| 4 | Wall surface: exterior | 7 | 8.9% | |
| 5 | Open area - outside; included are farmland, field | 7 | 8.9% | |
| 6 | Common room, den, family room, living room, lounge | 5 | 6.3% | |
| 7 | Other | 4 | 5.1% | |
| 8 | Chute/container - trash, rubbish, waste | 2 | 2.5% | |
| 9 | Vehicle storage area; garage, carport | 2 | 2.5% | |
| 10 | Wall assembly | 2 | 2.5% | |
| 11 | All other areas | 13 | 16.5% |
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 Ludington mix.
| # | Heat source | Count | Share | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Undetermined | 32 | 40.5% | |
| 2 | Heat source: other | 9 | 11.4% | |
| 3 | Hot or smoldering object, other | 7 | 8.9% | |
| 4 | Arcing | 6 | 7.6% | |
| 5 | Heat from powered equipment, other | 5 | 6.3% | |
| 6 | Spark, ember or flame from operating equipment | 4 | 5.1% | |
| 7 | Hot ember or ash | 3 | 3.8% | |
| 8 | Fireworks | 3 | 3.8% | |
| 9 | Radiated heat from another fire | 3 | 3.8% | |
| 10 | Cigarette | 2 | 2.5% | |
| 11 | All other sources | 5 | 6.3% |
Largest single-incident property losses reported by Ludington departments in 2025. These 4 fires alone account for 100% of the city's annual total.
| # | Property loss | Type | Severity | Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | $200,000 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
| 2 | $75,000 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
| 3 | $60,000 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
| 4 | $10,000 | Grass fire | Significant | Investigated |
Per-capita rates let us compare apples to apples. Ludington sits above the national average for incidents per resident.
Top 25 wildfires (1992+) in the FPA-FOD ignitions database, scaled by acres. 4,073 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 | 30.1 mi | |
| 2003 | Debris and open burning | 764 | 34.5 mi | |
| 2003 | Arson/incendiarism | 275 | 45.7 mi | |
| 1995 | Natural | 200 | 20.7 mi | |
| 2010 | Power generation/transmission/distribution | 175 | 49.5 mi | |
| 2011 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 152 | 37.2 mi | |
| 1994 | Arson/incendiarism | 151 | 37.3 mi | |
| 2008 | Debris and open burning | 133 | 38.4 mi | |
| 2010 | Natural | 118 | 21.0 mi | |
| 1994 | Recreation and ceremony | 107 | 47.3 mi | |
| 2003 | Arson/incendiarism | 106 | 34.7 mi | |
| 1994 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 100 | 17.2 mi |
Top 1 ZIP codes by NFIRS incident count across 2021–2025. Each ZIP has its own fire profile — dive in for neighborhood-level context.
| # | ZIP | 5-yr incidents | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 49431 | 650 |
Six Michigan cities with population within ±25% of Ludington. Useful comparison targets — same state, similar size, different fire profile.
4 departments report to NFIRS for incidents in Ludington.
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.