In 2025, fire departments serving Mecosta responded to 36 fire and hazmat incidents . Here's the full picture.
Building fires lead by count. Building fires lead by dollars. Together the top five categories make up about 78% of all calls.
Apr peaks. Jan dips. Watch for the typical fall climb starting in October.
212 incidents 2021–2025. Peak year was 2023. $804K cumulative property loss.
| Year | Incidents | YoY | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2021 | 40 | — | |
| 2022 | 39 | -2.5% | |
| 2023 | 67 | +71.8% | |
| 2024 | 30 | -55.2% | |
| 2025 | 36 | +20.0% |
For the 9 building fires Mecosta departments responded to in 2025, here's how they were classified once investigators were finished.
NFIRS Area of Origin (AREA_ORIG) for the 33 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 | 11 | 33.3% | |
| 2 | Open area - outside; included are farmland, field | 5 | 15.2% | |
| 3 | Engine area, running gear, wheel area | 3 | 9.1% | |
| 4 | Other | 2 | 6.1% | |
| 5 | Vehicle storage area; garage, carport | 2 | 6.1% | |
| 6 | Entrance way, lobby | 1 | 3.0% | |
| 7 | Cooking area, kitchen | 1 | 3.0% | |
| 8 | Conduit, pipe, utility, or ventilation shaft | 1 | 3.0% | |
| 9 | Duct: hvac, cable, exhaust, heating, or AC | 1 | 3.0% | |
| 10 | Incinerator area | 1 | 3.0% | |
| 11 | All other areas | 5 | 15.2% |
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 Mecosta mix.
| # | Heat source | Count | Share | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Undetermined | 17 | 51.5% | |
| 2 | Hot ember or ash | 4 | 12.1% | |
| 3 | Radiated, conducted heat from operating equipment | 2 | 6.1% | |
| 4 | Heat from powered equipment, other | 1 | 3.0% | |
| 5 | Arcing | 1 | 3.0% | |
| 6 | Hot or smoldering object, other | 1 | 3.0% | |
| 7 | Heat from other open flame or smoking materials | 1 | 3.0% | |
| 8 | Cigarette | 1 | 3.0% | |
| 9 | Cigarette lighter | 1 | 3.0% | |
| 10 | Backfire from internal combustion engine | 1 | 3.0% | |
| 11 | All other sources | 3 | 9.1% |
Per-capita rates let us compare apples to apples. Mecosta sits above the national average for incidents per resident.
Top 25 wildfires (1992+) in the FPA-FOD ignitions database, scaled by acres. 3,853 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 | 34.8 mi | |
| 2003 | Arson/incendiarism | 275 | 48.9 mi | |
| 2003 | Debris and open burning | 191 | 38.0 mi | |
| 2003 | Debris and open burning | 162 | 26.9 mi | |
| 2003 | Recreation and ceremony | 155 | 40.6 mi | |
| 2004 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 153 | 45.1 mi | |
| 2011 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 152 | 34.5 mi | |
| 1994 | Arson/incendiarism | 151 | 47.3 mi | |
| 1994 | Arson/incendiarism | 150 | 37.5 mi | |
| 2008 | Debris and open burning | 133 | 46.7 mi | |
| 2010 | Natural | 118 | 48.5 mi | |
| 1994 | Recreation and ceremony | 107 | 39.9 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 Mecosta. Useful comparison targets — same state, similar size, different fire profile.
1 departments report to NFIRS for incidents in Mecosta.
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.