In 2025, fire departments serving Manistee responded to 129 fire and hazmat incidents — from cooking fires to gas leaks to a single $150K 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.
Nov peaks. Oct dips. Watch for the typical fall climb starting in October.
502 incidents 2021–2025. Peak year was 2025. $1.3M cumulative property loss. 1 civilian deaths.
| Year | Incidents | YoY | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2021 | 119 | — | |
| 2022 | 102 | -14.3% | |
| 2023 | 66 | -35.3% | |
| 2024 | 86 | +30.3% | |
| 2025 | 129 | +50.0% |
For the 19 building fires Manistee departments responded to in 2025, here's how they were classified once investigators were finished.
NFIRS Area of Origin (AREA_ORIG) for the 48 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 | 7 | 14.6% | |
| 2 | Other | 6 | 12.5% | |
| 3 | Bedroom - < 5 persons; included are jail or prison | 6 | 12.5% | |
| 4 | Cooking area, kitchen | 3 | 6.2% | |
| 5 | Outside area, other | 3 | 6.2% | |
| 6 | Wildland, woods | 3 | 6.2% | |
| 7 | Exterior balcony, unenclosed porch | 2 | 4.2% | |
| 8 | Wall surface: exterior | 2 | 4.2% | |
| 9 | Highway, parking lot, street: on or near | 2 | 4.2% | |
| 10 | Open area - outside; included are farmland, field | 2 | 4.2% | |
| 11 | All other areas | 12 | 25.0% |
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 Manistee mix.
| # | Heat source | Count | Share | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Undetermined | 18 | 37.5% | |
| 2 | Arcing | 6 | 12.5% | |
| 3 | Heat source: other | 5 | 10.4% | |
| 4 | Heat from powered equipment, other | 3 | 6.2% | |
| 5 | Radiated, conducted heat from operating equipment | 3 | 6.2% | |
| 6 | Cigarette lighter | 3 | 6.2% | |
| 7 | Hot ember or ash | 2 | 4.2% | |
| 8 | Hot or smoldering object, other | 1 | 2.1% | |
| 9 | Heat, spark from friction | 1 | 2.1% | |
| 10 | Fireworks | 1 | 2.1% | |
| 11 | All other sources | 5 | 10.4% |
Largest single-incident property losses reported by Manistee departments in 2025. These 8 fires alone account for 96% of the city's annual total.
| # | Property loss | Type | Severity | Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | $150,000 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
| 2 | $75,000 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
| 3 | $60,000 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
| 4 | $50,000 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
| 5 | $30,000 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
| 6 | $20,000 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
| 7 | $16,500 | Fire in mobile prop. used as a fixed struc., other | Significant | Investigated |
| 8 | $16,000 | Off-road vehicle or heavy equipment fire | Significant | Investigated |
Per-capita rates let us compare apples to apples. Manistee sits above the national average for incidents per resident.
Top 25 wildfires (1992+) in the FPA-FOD ignitions database, scaled by acres. 3,645 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 | 37.0 mi | |
| 2003 | Debris and open burning | 764 | 23.0 mi | |
| 1995 | Natural | 200 | 15.2 mi | |
| 2011 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 152 | 35.7 mi | |
| 2019 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 140 | 35.7 mi | |
| 2008 | Debris and open burning | 133 | 29.2 mi | |
| 2010 | Natural | 118 | 21.2 mi | |
| 2003 | Debris and open burning | 115 | 49.2 mi | |
| 1994 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 100 | 25.5 mi | |
| 2003 | Debris and open burning | 89 | 39.8 mi | |
| 1994 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 80 | 38.2 mi | |
| 2003 | Debris and open burning | 80 | 41.8 mi |
Top 3 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 Manistee. Useful comparison targets — same state, similar size, different fire profile.
5 departments report to NFIRS for incidents in Manistee.
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.