In 2025, fire departments serving Melvindale responded to 57 fire and hazmat incidents — from cooking fires to gas leaks to a single $106K 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 67% of all calls.
Jul peaks. Dec dips. Watch for the typical fall climb starting in October.
474 incidents 2021–2025. Peak year was 2023. $6.5M cumulative property loss. 1 civilian deaths.
| Year | Incidents | YoY | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2021 | 94 | — | |
| 2022 | 87 | -7.4% | |
| 2023 | 156 | +79.3% | |
| 2024 | 80 | -48.7% | |
| 2025 | 57 | -28.7% |
For the 4 building fires Melvindale departments responded to in 2025, here's how they were classified once investigators were finished.
NFIRS Area of Origin (AREA_ORIG) for the 125 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 | 25 | 20.0% | |
| 2 | Undetermined | 19 | 15.2% | |
| 3 | Outside area, other | 15 | 12.0% | |
| 4 | Engine area, running gear, wheel area | 12 | 9.6% | |
| 5 | Vehicle storage area; garage, carport | 8 | 6.4% | |
| 6 | Open area - outside; included are farmland, field | 7 | 5.6% | |
| 7 | Common room, den, family room, living room, lounge | 4 | 3.2% | |
| 8 | Other | 3 | 2.4% | |
| 9 | Chute/container - trash, rubbish, waste | 3 | 2.4% | |
| 10 | Vehicle area, other | 3 | 2.4% | |
| 11 | All other areas | 26 | 20.8% |
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 Melvindale mix.
| # | Heat source | Count | Share | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Undetermined | 47 | 37.6% | |
| 2 | Radiated, conducted heat from operating equipment | 12 | 9.6% | |
| 3 | Heat source: other | 11 | 8.8% | |
| 4 | Heat from powered equipment, other | 11 | 8.8% | |
| 5 | Hot or smoldering object, other | 6 | 4.8% | |
| 6 | Heat from direct flame, convection currents | 6 | 4.8% | |
| 7 | Arcing | 5 | 4.0% | |
| 8 | Heat from other open flame or smoking materials | 5 | 4.0% | |
| 9 | Cigarette | 4 | 3.2% | |
| 10 | Cigarette lighter | 4 | 3.2% | |
| 11 | All other sources | 14 | 11.2% |
Largest single-incident property losses reported by Melvindale departments in 2025. These 7 fires alone account for 100% of the city's annual total.
| # | Property loss | Type | Severity | Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | $106,360 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
| 2 | $40,000 | Passenger vehicle fire | Significant | Investigated |
| 3 | $10,000 | Passenger vehicle fire | Significant | Investigated |
| 4 | $6,000 | Passenger vehicle fire | Significant | Investigated |
| 5 | $5,000 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
| 6 | $2,500 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
| 7 | $1 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
Per-capita rates let us compare apples to apples. Melvindale sits below the national average for incidents per resident.
Top 25 wildfires (1992+) in the FPA-FOD ignitions database, scaled by acres. 1,202 acres burned in this 50-mile radius. Each dot is a fire — bigger dots burned more land.
| Year | Cause | Acres | Distance | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2019 | Debris and open burning | 300 | 18.8 mi | |
| 2018 | Equipment and vehicle use | 100 | 44.3 mi | |
| 1996 | Debris and open burning | 98 | 45.7 mi | |
| 2019 | Equipment and vehicle use | 80 | 28.3 mi | |
| 2005 | Debris and open burning | 77 | 26.6 mi | |
| 2010 | Arson/incendiarism | 69 | 40.1 mi | |
| 2015 | Equipment and vehicle use | 50 | 48.0 mi | |
| 2020 | Debris and open burning | 50 | 35.0 mi | |
| 2019 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 49 | 25.5 mi | |
| 2010 | Arson/incendiarism | 42 | 16.4 mi | |
| 1994 | Recreation and ceremony | 38 | 31.8 mi | |
| 1996 | Misuse of fire by a minor | 30 | 29.2 mi |
Top 8 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 Melvindale. Useful comparison targets — same state, similar size, different fire profile.
1 departments report to NFIRS for incidents in Melvindale.
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.