In 2025, fire departments serving North Branch responded to 47 fire and hazmat incidents — from cooking fires to gas leaks to a single $100K 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 70% of all calls.
Nov peaks. Jan dips. Watch for the typical fall climb starting in October.
243 incidents 2021–2025. Peak year was 2022. $1.6M cumulative property loss.
| Year | Incidents | YoY | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2021 | 41 | — | |
| 2022 | 72 | +75.6% | |
| 2023 | 41 | -43.1% | |
| 2024 | 42 | +2.4% | |
| 2025 | 47 | +11.9% |
For the 14 building fires North Branch departments responded to in 2025, here's how they were classified once investigators were finished.
NFIRS Area of Origin (AREA_ORIG) for the 78 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 | Undetermined | 48 | 61.5% | |
| 2 | Outside area, other | 6 | 7.7% | |
| 3 | Open area - outside; included are farmland, field | 6 | 7.7% | |
| 4 | Engine area, running gear, wheel area | 3 | 3.8% | |
| 5 | Bathroom, checkroom, lavatory, locker room | 2 | 2.6% | |
| 6 | Other | 1 | 1.3% | |
| 7 | Bedroom - < 5 persons; included are jail or prison | 1 | 1.3% | |
| 8 | Storage area, other | 1 | 1.3% | |
| 9 | Conduit, pipe, utility, or ventilation shaft | 1 | 1.3% | |
| 10 | Duct: hvac, cable, exhaust, heating, or AC | 1 | 1.3% | |
| 11 | All other areas | 8 | 10.3% |
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 North Branch mix.
| # | Heat source | Count | Share | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Undetermined | 64 | 82.1% | |
| 2 | Heat source: other | 2 | 2.6% | |
| 3 | Heat from powered equipment, other | 2 | 2.6% | |
| 4 | Hot ember or ash | 2 | 2.6% | |
| 5 | Heat from other open flame or smoking materials | 2 | 2.6% | |
| 6 | Heat spread from another fire, other | 2 | 2.6% | |
| 7 | Hot or smoldering object, other | 1 | 1.3% | |
| 8 | Heat from undetermined smoking material | 1 | 1.3% | |
| 9 | Match | 1 | 1.3% | |
| 10 | Radiated heat from another fire | 1 | 1.3% |
Largest single-incident property losses reported by North Branch departments in 2025. These 3 fires alone account for 100% of the city's annual total.
| # | Property loss | Type | Severity | Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | $100,000 | Outside rubbish, trash or waste fire | Significant | Investigated |
| 2 | $82,500 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
| 3 | $75,000 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
Per-capita rates let us compare apples to apples. North Branch sits above the national average for incidents per resident.
Top 25 wildfires (1992+) in the FPA-FOD ignitions database, scaled by acres. 1,656 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 | 34.9 mi | |
| 2012 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 257 | 45.0 mi | |
| 2003 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 116 | 31.8 mi | |
| 2010 | Debris and open burning | 70 | 26.4 mi | |
| 2004 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 67 | 34.8 mi | |
| 2012 | Smoking | 64 | 7.6 mi | |
| 2009 | Debris and open burning | 63 | 34.3 mi | |
| 2006 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 61 | 39.7 mi | |
| 1994 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 60 | 20.2 mi | |
| 2003 | Debris and open burning | 53 | 35.0 mi | |
| 2020 | Debris and open burning | 50 | 47.6 mi | |
| 2020 | Natural | 50 | 47.9 mi |
Top 1 ZIP codes by NFIRS incident count across 2021–2025. Each ZIP has its own fire profile — dive in for neighborhood-level context.
| # | ZIP | 5-yr incidents | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 48461 | 243 |
Six Michigan cities with population within ±25% of North Branch. Useful comparison targets — same state, similar size, different fire profile.
2 departments report to NFIRS for incidents in North Branch.
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.