In 2025, fire departments serving New Buffalo responded to 84 fire and hazmat incidents — from cooking fires to gas leaks to a single $200K building blaze. Here's the full picture.
Hazardous condition, other lead by count. Building fires lead by dollars. Together the top five categories make up about 65% of all calls.
Jun peaks. Sep dips. Watch for the typical fall climb starting in October.
292 incidents 2021–2025. Peak year was 2025. $588K cumulative property loss.
| Year | Incidents | YoY | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2021 | 57 | — | |
| 2022 | 41 | -28.1% | |
| 2023 | 58 | +41.5% | |
| 2024 | 52 | -10.3% | |
| 2025 | 84 | +61.5% |
For the 8 building fires New Buffalo departments responded to in 2025, here's how they were classified once investigators were finished.
NFIRS Area of Origin (AREA_ORIG) for the 31 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 | Outside area, other | 9 | 29.0% | |
| 2 | Laundry area, wash house (laundry) | 2 | 6.5% | |
| 3 | Attic: vacant, crawl space above top story, cupola | 2 | 6.5% | |
| 4 | Vehicle area, other | 2 | 6.5% | |
| 5 | Operator/passenger area of transportation equip. | 2 | 6.5% | |
| 6 | Cargo/trunk area - all vehicles | 2 | 6.5% | |
| 7 | Undetermined | 2 | 6.5% | |
| 8 | Other | 1 | 3.2% | |
| 9 | Cooking area, kitchen | 1 | 3.2% | |
| 10 | Bathroom, checkroom, lavatory, locker room | 1 | 3.2% | |
| 11 | All other areas | 7 | 22.6% |
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 Buffalo mix.
| # | Heat source | Count | Share | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Undetermined | 13 | 41.9% | |
| 2 | Heat source: other | 4 | 12.9% | |
| 3 | Arcing | 3 | 9.7% | |
| 4 | Spark, ember or flame from operating equipment | 2 | 6.5% | |
| 5 | Match | 2 | 6.5% | |
| 6 | Flame/torch used for lighting | 2 | 6.5% | |
| 7 | Heat from powered equipment, other | 1 | 3.2% | |
| 8 | Radiated, conducted heat from operating equipment | 1 | 3.2% | |
| 9 | Heat, spark from friction | 1 | 3.2% | |
| 10 | Fireworks | 1 | 3.2% | |
| 11 | All other sources | 1 | 3.2% |
Largest single-incident property losses reported by New Buffalo departments in 2025. These 8 fires alone account for 100% of the city's annual total.
| # | Property loss | Type | Severity | Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | $200,000 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
| 2 | $150,000 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
| 3 | $150,000 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
| 4 | $60,000 | Outside equipment fire | Significant | Investigated |
| 5 | $5,000 | Passenger vehicle fire | Significant | Investigated |
| 6 | $3,000 | Passenger vehicle fire | Significant | Investigated |
| 7 | $2,500 | Passenger vehicle fire | Significant | Investigated |
| 8 | $20 | Outside rubbish fire, other | Significant | Investigated |
Per-capita rates let us compare apples to apples. New Buffalo sits above the national average for incidents per resident.
Top 25 wildfires (1992+) in the FPA-FOD ignitions database, scaled by acres. 4,590 acres burned in this 50-mile radius. Each dot is a fire — bigger dots burned more land.
| Year | Cause | Acres | Distance | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2002 | Railroad operations and maintenance | 396 | 30.7 mi | |
| 1993 | Railroad operations and maintenance | 341 | 30.7 mi | |
| 2012 | Railroad operations and maintenance | 291 | 31.3 mi | |
| 2019 | Railroad operations and maintenance | 274 | 29.4 mi | |
| 1995 | Debris and open burning | 253 | 32.3 mi | |
| 1996 | Railroad operations and maintenance | 244 | 30.9 mi | |
| 2019 | Railroad operations and maintenance | 216 | 30.6 mi | |
| 2003 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 204 | 31.8 mi | |
| 1994 | Railroad operations and maintenance | 191 | 30.3 mi | |
| 1994 | Railroad operations and maintenance | 190 | 32.3 mi | |
| 2003 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 187 | 31.4 mi | |
| 2016 | Railroad operations and maintenance | 182 | 28.3 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 Buffalo. Useful comparison targets — same state, similar size, different fire profile.
2 departments report to NFIRS for incidents in New Buffalo.
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.