In 2025, fire departments serving Montrose responded to 126 fire and hazmat incidents — from cooking fires to gas leaks to a single $252K building blaze. Here's the full picture.
Building fires lead by count. Building fires lead by dollars. Together the top five categories make up about 61% of all calls.
Apr peaks. Oct dips. Watch for the typical fall climb starting in October.
526 incidents 2021–2025. Peak year was 2025. $2.9M cumulative property loss.
| Year | Incidents | YoY | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2021 | 119 | — | |
| 2022 | 108 | -9.2% | |
| 2023 | 90 | -16.7% | |
| 2024 | 83 | -7.8% | |
| 2025 | 126 | +51.8% |
For the 28 building fires Montrose departments responded to in 2025, here's how they were classified once investigators were finished.
NFIRS Area of Origin (AREA_ORIG) for the 126 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 | Open area - outside; included are farmland, field | 23 | 18.3% | |
| 2 | Outside area, other | 18 | 14.3% | |
| 3 | Engine area, running gear, wheel area | 16 | 12.7% | |
| 4 | Undetermined | 12 | 9.5% | |
| 5 | Vehicle storage area; garage, carport | 8 | 6.3% | |
| 6 | Vehicle area, other | 7 | 5.6% | |
| 7 | Other | 4 | 3.2% | |
| 8 | Bedroom - < 5 persons; included are jail or prison | 3 | 2.4% | |
| 9 | Cooking area, kitchen | 3 | 2.4% | |
| 10 | Storage area, other | 3 | 2.4% | |
| 11 | All other areas | 29 | 23.0% |
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 Montrose mix.
| # | Heat source | Count | Share | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Undetermined | 43 | 34.1% | |
| 2 | Match | 17 | 13.5% | |
| 3 | Cigarette lighter | 11 | 8.7% | |
| 4 | Hot or smoldering object, other | 10 | 7.9% | |
| 5 | Arcing | 9 | 7.1% | |
| 6 | Radiated, conducted heat from operating equipment | 5 | 4.0% | |
| 7 | Hot ember or ash | 5 | 4.0% | |
| 8 | Heat spread from another fire, other | 4 | 3.2% | |
| 9 | Spark, ember or flame from operating equipment | 3 | 2.4% | |
| 10 | Heat, spark from friction | 3 | 2.4% | |
| 11 | All other sources | 16 | 12.7% |
Largest single-incident property losses reported by Montrose departments in 2025. These 8 fires alone account for 99% of the city's annual total.
| # | Property loss | Type | Severity | Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | $252,000 | Building fires | Major | Investigated |
| 2 | $150,000 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
| 3 | $40,000 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
| 4 | $25,000 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
| 5 | $25,000 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
| 6 | $25,000 | Fires in structures other than in a building | Significant | Investigated |
| 7 | $15,000 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
| 8 | $7,500 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
Per-capita rates let us compare apples to apples. Montrose sits above the national average for incidents per resident.
Top 25 wildfires (1992+) in the FPA-FOD ignitions database, scaled by acres. 2,127 acres burned in this 50-mile radius. Each dot is a fire — bigger dots burned more land.
| Year | Cause | Acres | Distance | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2012 | Arson/incendiarism | 335 | 30.0 mi | |
| 2004 | Natural | 186 | 47.7 mi | |
| 2003 | Recreation and ceremony | 155 | 46.4 mi | |
| 2020 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 143 | 35.4 mi | |
| 1996 | Arson/incendiarism | 142 | 49.6 mi | |
| 2018 | Equipment and vehicle use | 100 | 40.9 mi | |
| 1996 | Debris and open burning | 80 | 32.5 mi | |
| 2003 | Equipment and vehicle use | 70 | 39.5 mi | |
| 2010 | Debris and open burning | 70 | 45.4 mi | |
| 2004 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 67 | 33.8 mi | |
| 2012 | Smoking | 64 | 34.8 mi | |
| 2009 | Debris and open burning | 63 | 31.2 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 Montrose. Useful comparison targets — same state, similar size, different fire profile.
1 departments report to NFIRS for incidents in Montrose.
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.