In 2025, fire departments serving Martin responded to 66 fire and hazmat incidents — from cooking fires to gas leaks to a single $15K 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 70% of all calls.
May peaks. Nov dips. Watch for the typical fall climb starting in October.
197 incidents 2021–2025. Peak year was 2025. $553K cumulative property loss.
| Year | Incidents | YoY | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2021 | 28 | — | |
| 2022 | 24 | -14.3% | |
| 2023 | 46 | +91.7% | |
| 2024 | 33 | -28.3% | |
| 2025 | 66 | +100.0% |
For the 2 building fires Martin departments responded to in 2025, here's how they were classified once investigators were finished.
NFIRS Area of Origin (AREA_ORIG) for the 45 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 | 10 | 22.2% | |
| 2 | Outside area, other | 9 | 20.0% | |
| 3 | Vehicle area, other | 5 | 11.1% | |
| 4 | Open area - outside; included are farmland, field | 4 | 8.9% | |
| 5 | Undetermined | 4 | 8.9% | |
| 6 | Bedroom - < 5 persons; included are jail or prison | 2 | 4.4% | |
| 7 | Structural area, other | 2 | 4.4% | |
| 8 | Highway, parking lot, street: on or near | 2 | 4.4% | |
| 9 | Exterior stairway, ramp, or fire escape | 1 | 2.2% | |
| 10 | Common room, den, family room, living room, lounge | 1 | 2.2% | |
| 11 | All other areas | 5 | 11.1% |
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 Martin mix.
| # | Heat source | Count | Share | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Undetermined | 26 | 57.8% | |
| 2 | Heat source: other | 2 | 4.4% | |
| 3 | Heat from powered equipment, other | 2 | 4.4% | |
| 4 | Radiated, conducted heat from operating equipment | 2 | 4.4% | |
| 5 | Hot or smoldering object, other | 2 | 4.4% | |
| 6 | Hot ember or ash | 2 | 4.4% | |
| 7 | Cigarette | 2 | 4.4% | |
| 8 | Heat spread from another fire, other | 2 | 4.4% | |
| 9 | Heat from undetermined smoking material | 1 | 2.2% | |
| 10 | Match | 1 | 2.2% | |
| 11 | All other sources | 3 | 6.7% |
Largest single-incident property losses reported by Martin departments in 2025. These 2 fires alone account for 100% of the city's annual total.
| # | Property loss | Type | Severity | Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | $15,000 | Fires in structures other than in a building | Significant | Investigated |
| 2 | $5,000 | Mobile property (vehicle) fire, other | Significant | Investigated |
Per-capita rates let us compare apples to apples. Martin sits above the national average for incidents per resident.
Top 25 wildfires (1992+) in the FPA-FOD ignitions database, scaled by acres. 1,404 acres burned in this 50-mile radius. Each dot is a fire — bigger dots burned more land.
| Year | Cause | Acres | Distance | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1994 | Arson/incendiarism | 150 | 41.3 mi | |
| 1996 | Equipment and vehicle use | 119 | 21.9 mi | |
| 2018 | Natural | 105 | 35.0 mi | |
| 1993 | Smoking | 90 | 15.3 mi | |
| 1995 | Smoking | 71 | 19.8 mi | |
| 2011 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 66 | 16.1 mi | |
| 1994 | Misuse of fire by a minor | 60 | 48.1 mi | |
| 2015 | Debris and open burning | 57 | 27.9 mi | |
| 2013 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 52 | 18.1 mi | |
| 1996 | Equipment and vehicle use | 51 | 21.9 mi | |
| 2019 | Debris and open burning | 50 | 25.5 mi | |
| 1994 | Debris and open burning | 50 | 21.9 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 Martin. Useful comparison targets — same state, similar size, different fire profile.
1 departments report to NFIRS for incidents in Martin.
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.