In 2025, fire departments serving New Baltimore responded to 56 fire and hazmat incidents . Here's the full picture.
Unauthorized burning lead by count. Building fires lead by dollars. Together the top five categories make up about 75% of all calls.
Apr peaks. Jan dips. Watch for the typical fall climb starting in October.
357 incidents 2021–2025. Peak year was 2024.
| Year | Incidents | YoY | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2021 | 71 | — | |
| 2022 | 53 | -25.4% | |
| 2023 | 86 | +62.3% | |
| 2024 | 91 | +5.8% | |
| 2025 | 56 | -38.5% |
For the 7 building fires New Baltimore departments responded to in 2025, here's how they were classified once investigators were finished.
NFIRS Area of Origin (AREA_ORIG) for the 67 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 | 14 | 20.9% | |
| 2 | Undetermined | 9 | 13.4% | |
| 3 | Outside area, other | 6 | 9.0% | |
| 4 | Open area - outside; included are farmland, field | 6 | 9.0% | |
| 5 | Storage area, other | 4 | 6.0% | |
| 6 | Vehicle storage area; garage, carport | 4 | 6.0% | |
| 7 | Vehicle area, other | 4 | 6.0% | |
| 8 | Engine area, running gear, wheel area | 4 | 6.0% | |
| 9 | Courtyard, patio, porch, terrace | 3 | 4.5% | |
| 10 | Other | 2 | 3.0% | |
| 11 | All other areas | 11 | 16.4% |
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 New Baltimore mix.
| # | Heat source | Count | Share | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Undetermined | 27 | 40.3% | |
| 2 | Heat from powered equipment, other | 8 | 11.9% | |
| 3 | Arcing | 5 | 7.5% | |
| 4 | Hot ember or ash | 5 | 7.5% | |
| 5 | Heat source: other | 4 | 6.0% | |
| 6 | Hot or smoldering object, other | 3 | 4.5% | |
| 7 | Cigarette | 3 | 4.5% | |
| 8 | Spark, ember or flame from operating equipment | 2 | 3.0% | |
| 9 | Fireworks | 1 | 1.5% | |
| 10 | Heat from other open flame or smoking materials | 1 | 1.5% | |
| 11 | All other sources | 8 | 11.9% |
Per-capita rates let us compare apples to apples. New Baltimore sits below the national average for incidents per resident.
Top 20 wildfires (1992+) in the FPA-FOD ignitions database, scaled by acres. 554 acres burned in this 50-mile radius. Each dot is a fire — bigger dots burned more land.
| Year | Cause | Acres | Distance | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2012 | Smoking | 64 | 37.9 mi | |
| 2003 | Debris and open burning | 53 | 16.7 mi | |
| 2020 | Debris and open burning | 50 | 47.4 mi | |
| 2019 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 49 | 17.3 mi | |
| 2020 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 37 | 46.9 mi | |
| 2003 | Equipment and vehicle use | 33 | 28.6 mi | |
| 1996 | Misuse of fire by a minor | 30 | 44.0 mi | |
| 2014 | Recreation and ceremony | 30 | 43.1 mi | |
| 2018 | Equipment and vehicle use | 30 | 38.8 mi | |
| 2005 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 27 | 29.0 mi | |
| 2008 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 22 | 43.1 mi | |
| 1992 | Arson/incendiarism | 21 | 43.0 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 New Baltimore. Useful comparison targets — same state, similar size, different fire profile.
1 departments report to NFIRS for incidents in New Baltimore.
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.