In 2025, fire departments serving Northville responded to 86 fire and hazmat incidents — from cooking fires to gas leaks to a single $700K building blaze. Here's the full picture.
Gas leak (natural gas or LPG) lead by count. Building fires lead by dollars. Together the top five categories make up about 77% of all calls.
Jul peaks. Dec dips. Watch for the typical fall climb starting in October.
606 incidents 2021–2025. Peak year was 2023. $3.6M cumulative property loss.
| Year | Incidents | YoY | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2021 | 109 | — | |
| 2022 | 110 | +0.9% | |
| 2023 | 194 | +76.4% | |
| 2024 | 107 | -44.8% | |
| 2025 | 86 | -19.6% |
For the 14 building fires Northville departments responded to in 2025, here's how they were classified once investigators were finished.
NFIRS Area of Origin (AREA_ORIG) for the 72 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 | 9 | 12.5% | |
| 2 | Engine area, running gear, wheel area | 8 | 11.1% | |
| 3 | Outside area, other | 7 | 9.7% | |
| 4 | Cooking area, kitchen | 5 | 6.9% | |
| 5 | Vehicle area, other | 4 | 5.6% | |
| 6 | Chute/container - trash, rubbish, waste | 3 | 4.2% | |
| 7 | Vehicle storage area; garage, carport | 3 | 4.2% | |
| 8 | Structural area, other | 3 | 4.2% | |
| 9 | Other | 2 | 2.8% | |
| 10 | Laundry area, wash house (laundry) | 2 | 2.8% | |
| 11 | All other areas | 26 | 36.1% |
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 Northville mix.
| # | Heat source | Count | Share | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Undetermined | 23 | 31.9% | |
| 2 | Arcing | 17 | 23.6% | |
| 3 | Radiated, conducted heat from operating equipment | 6 | 8.3% | |
| 4 | Heat from powered equipment, other | 5 | 6.9% | |
| 5 | Hot ember or ash | 5 | 6.9% | |
| 6 | Spark, ember or flame from operating equipment | 3 | 4.2% | |
| 7 | Flame/torch used for lighting | 3 | 4.2% | |
| 8 | Heat source: other | 2 | 2.8% | |
| 9 | Cigarette | 2 | 2.8% | |
| 10 | Heat from direct flame, convection currents | 2 | 2.8% | |
| 11 | All other sources | 4 | 5.6% |
Largest single-incident property losses reported by Northville departments in 2025. These 8 fires alone account for 100% of the city's annual total.
| # | Property loss | Type | Severity | Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | $700,000 | Building fires | Major | Investigated |
| 2 | $300,000 | Mobile property (vehicle) fire, other | Major | Investigated |
| 3 | $50,000 | Power line down | Significant | Investigated |
| 4 | $10,000 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
| 5 | $8,000 | Vehicle accident, general cleanup | Significant | Investigated |
| 6 | $5,000 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
| 7 | $260 | Gasoline or other flammable liquid spill | Significant | Investigated |
| 8 | $60 | Natural vegetation fire, other | Significant | Investigated |
Per-capita rates let us compare apples to apples. Northville sits above the national average for incidents per resident.
Top 25 wildfires (1992+) in the FPA-FOD ignitions database, scaled by acres. 1,815 acres burned in this 50-mile radius. Each dot is a fire — bigger dots burned more land.
| Year | Cause | Acres | Distance | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2019 | Debris and open burning | 300 | 32.3 mi | |
| 2020 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 143 | 35.3 mi | |
| 1996 | Arson/incendiarism | 142 | 41.1 mi | |
| 2018 | Equipment and vehicle use | 100 | 25.3 mi | |
| 1996 | Debris and open burning | 98 | 34.1 mi | |
| 1996 | Arson/incendiarism | 96 | 39.2 mi | |
| 2019 | Equipment and vehicle use | 80 | 32.9 mi | |
| 2005 | Debris and open burning | 77 | 27.3 mi | |
| 2003 | Equipment and vehicle use | 70 | 41.4 mi | |
| 2010 | Arson/incendiarism | 69 | 47.8 mi | |
| 2012 | Smoking | 64 | 49.4 mi | |
| 1994 | Debris and open burning | 60 | 45.7 mi |
Top 5 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 Northville. Useful comparison targets — same state, similar size, different fire profile.
2 departments report to NFIRS for incidents in Northville.
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.