In 2025, fire departments serving Oscoda responded to 61 fire and hazmat incidents — from cooking fires to gas leaks to a single $550K building blaze. Here's the full picture.
Electrical wiring/equipment problem, other lead by count. Building fires lead by dollars. Together the top five categories make up about 61% of all calls.
Mar peaks. Nov dips. Watch for the typical fall climb starting in October.
267 incidents 2021–2025. Peak year was 2025. $3.1M cumulative property loss.
| Year | Incidents | YoY | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2021 | 47 | — | |
| 2022 | 54 | +14.9% | |
| 2023 | 52 | -3.7% | |
| 2024 | 53 | +1.9% | |
| 2025 | 61 | +15.1% |
For the 10 building fires Oscoda departments responded to in 2025, here's how they were classified once investigators were finished.
NFIRS Area of Origin (AREA_ORIG) for the 84 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 | 11 | 13.1% | |
| 2 | Open area - outside; included are farmland, field | 10 | 11.9% | |
| 3 | Common room, den, family room, living room, lounge | 6 | 7.1% | |
| 4 | Courtyard, patio, porch, terrace | 6 | 7.1% | |
| 5 | Bedroom - < 5 persons; included are jail or prison | 4 | 4.8% | |
| 6 | Vehicle storage area; garage, carport | 4 | 4.8% | |
| 7 | Structural area, other | 4 | 4.8% | |
| 8 | Wildland, woods | 4 | 4.8% | |
| 9 | Equipment or service area, other | 3 | 3.6% | |
| 10 | Wall surface: exterior | 3 | 3.6% | |
| 11 | All other areas | 29 | 34.5% |
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 Oscoda mix.
| # | Heat source | Count | Share | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Undetermined | 37 | 44.0% | |
| 2 | Arcing | 10 | 11.9% | |
| 3 | Heat from other open flame or smoking materials | 6 | 7.1% | |
| 4 | Radiated, conducted heat from operating equipment | 5 | 6.0% | |
| 5 | Cigarette | 5 | 6.0% | |
| 6 | Heat from direct flame, convection currents | 4 | 4.8% | |
| 7 | Hot ember or ash | 3 | 3.6% | |
| 8 | Heat from powered equipment, other | 2 | 2.4% | |
| 9 | Hot or smoldering object, other | 2 | 2.4% | |
| 10 | Cigarette lighter | 2 | 2.4% | |
| 11 | All other sources | 8 | 9.5% |
Largest single-incident property losses reported by Oscoda departments in 2025. These 8 fires alone account for 96% of the city's annual total.
| # | Property loss | Type | Severity | Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | $550,000 | Building fires | Major | Investigated |
| 2 | $95,000 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
| 3 | $90,000 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
| 4 | $60,000 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
| 5 | $50,000 | Fire in mobile home used as fixed residence | Significant | Investigated |
| 6 | $23,000 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
| 7 | $12,500 | Fire, other | Significant | Investigated |
| 8 | $12,000 | Fire, other | Significant | Investigated |
Per-capita rates let us compare apples to apples. Oscoda sits above the national average for incidents per resident.
Top 25 wildfires (1992+) in the FPA-FOD ignitions database, scaled by acres. 18,242 acres burned in this 50-mile radius. Each dot is a fire — bigger dots burned more land.
| Year | Cause | Acres | Distance | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2006 | Debris and open burning | 5,818 | 42.6 mi | |
| 2000 | Recreation and ceremony | 5,200 | 34.5 mi | |
| 1999 | Equipment and vehicle use | 1,035 | 38.1 mi | |
| 1999 | Equipment and vehicle use | 840 | 38.1 mi | |
| 2012 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 820 | 39.2 mi | |
| 1992 | Natural | 687 | 46.7 mi | |
| 2003 | Arson/incendiarism | 531 | 11.3 mi | |
| 2015 | Arson/incendiarism | 472 | 21.3 mi | |
| 1994 | Recreation and ceremony | 289 | 36.9 mi | |
| 2010 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 270 | 11.4 mi | |
| 2012 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 257 | 39.7 mi | |
| 1994 | Debris and open burning | 253 | 29.7 mi |
Top 3 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 Oscoda. Useful comparison targets — same state, similar size, different fire profile.
2 departments report to NFIRS for incidents in Oscoda.
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.