In 2025, fire departments serving Negaunee responded to 41 fire and hazmat incidents — from cooking fires to gas leaks to a single $30K 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 76% of all calls.
Oct peaks. Feb dips. Watch for the typical fall climb starting in October.
232 incidents 2021–2025. Peak year was 2023. $1.4M cumulative property loss.
| Year | Incidents | YoY | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2021 | 38 | — | |
| 2022 | 50 | +31.6% | |
| 2023 | 60 | +20.0% | |
| 2024 | 43 | -28.3% | |
| 2025 | 41 | -4.7% |
For the 6 building fires Negaunee departments responded to in 2025, here's how they were classified once investigators were finished.
NFIRS Area of Origin (AREA_ORIG) for the 35 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 | 6 | 17.1% | |
| 2 | Undetermined | 6 | 17.1% | |
| 3 | Bedroom - < 5 persons; included are jail or prison | 3 | 8.6% | |
| 4 | Operator/passenger area of transportation equip. | 3 | 8.6% | |
| 5 | Wildland, woods | 3 | 8.6% | |
| 6 | Vehicle area, other | 2 | 5.7% | |
| 7 | Cooking area, kitchen | 1 | 2.9% | |
| 8 | Laundry area, wash house (laundry) | 1 | 2.9% | |
| 9 | Storage room, area, tank, or bin | 1 | 2.9% | |
| 10 | Closet | 1 | 2.9% | |
| 11 | All other areas | 8 | 22.9% |
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 Negaunee mix.
| # | Heat source | Count | Share | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Undetermined | 13 | 37.1% | |
| 2 | Arcing | 7 | 20.0% | |
| 3 | Heat from powered equipment, other | 5 | 14.3% | |
| 4 | Spark, ember or flame from operating equipment | 2 | 5.7% | |
| 5 | Radiated, conducted heat from operating equipment | 2 | 5.7% | |
| 6 | Hot or smoldering object, other | 2 | 5.7% | |
| 7 | Cigarette | 2 | 5.7% | |
| 8 | Heat, spark from friction | 1 | 2.9% | |
| 9 | Candle | 1 | 2.9% |
Largest single-incident property losses reported by Negaunee departments in 2025. These 3 fires alone account for 100% of the city's annual total.
| # | Property loss | Type | Severity | Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | $30,000 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
| 2 | $14,000 | Fire in motor home, camper, recreational vehicle | Significant | Investigated |
| 3 | $3,000 | Mobile property (vehicle) fire, other | Significant | Investigated |
Per-capita rates let us compare apples to apples. Negaunee sits above the national average for incidents per resident.
Top 25 wildfires (1992+) in the FPA-FOD ignitions database, scaled by acres. 8,699 acres burned in this 50-mile radius. Each dot is a fire — bigger dots burned more land.
| Year | Cause | Acres | Distance | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1999 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 5,625 | 18.0 mi | |
| 2009 | Power generation/transmission/distribution | 806 | 11.6 mi | |
| 2009 | Debris and open burning | 700 | 42.3 mi | |
| 1996 | Railroad operations and maintenance | 154 | 10.9 mi | |
| 2007 | Railroad operations and maintenance | 134 | 44.5 mi | |
| 1994 | Arson/incendiarism | 103 | 20.0 mi | |
| 2007 | Railroad operations and maintenance | 97 | 45.3 mi | |
| 1994 | Equipment and vehicle use | 87 | 28.8 mi | |
| 2009 | Recreation and ceremony | 85 | 35.8 mi | |
| 2009 | Natural | 85 | 33.1 mi | |
| 1994 | Misuse of fire by a minor | 84 | 49.4 mi | |
| 2015 | Equipment and vehicle use | 80 | 15.6 mi |
Top 2 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 Negaunee. Useful comparison targets — same state, similar size, different fire profile.
2 departments report to NFIRS for incidents in Negaunee.
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.