In 2025, fire departments serving Otisville responded to 39 fire and hazmat incidents — from cooking fires to gas leaks to a single $200K building blaze. Here's the full picture.
Power line down lead by count. Building fires lead by dollars. Together the top five categories make up about 74% of all calls.
Mar peaks. Oct dips. Watch for the typical fall climb starting in October.
148 incidents 2021–2025. Peak year was 2025. $1.9M cumulative property loss.
| Year | Incidents | YoY | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2021 | 21 | — | |
| 2022 | 32 | +52.4% | |
| 2023 | 24 | -25.0% | |
| 2024 | 32 | +33.3% | |
| 2025 | 39 | +21.9% |
For the 8 building fires Otisville departments responded to in 2025, here's how they were classified once investigators were finished.
NFIRS Area of Origin (AREA_ORIG) for the 42 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 | Engine area, running gear, wheel area | 5 | 11.9% | |
| 2 | Outside area, other | 5 | 11.9% | |
| 3 | Common room, den, family room, living room, lounge | 3 | 7.1% | |
| 4 | Vehicle storage area; garage, carport | 3 | 7.1% | |
| 5 | Open area - outside; included are farmland, field | 3 | 7.1% | |
| 6 | Other | 2 | 4.8% | |
| 7 | Bedroom - < 5 persons; included are jail or prison | 2 | 4.8% | |
| 8 | Storage area, other | 2 | 4.8% | |
| 9 | Substructure area or space, crawl space | 2 | 4.8% | |
| 10 | Vehicle area, other | 2 | 4.8% | |
| 11 | All other areas | 13 | 31.0% |
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 Otisville mix.
| # | Heat source | Count | Share | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Hot ember or ash | 7 | 16.7% | |
| 2 | Undetermined | 7 | 16.7% | |
| 3 | Heat source: other | 4 | 9.5% | |
| 4 | Hot or smoldering object, other | 4 | 9.5% | |
| 5 | Molten, hot material | 4 | 9.5% | |
| 6 | Heat from powered equipment, other | 2 | 4.8% | |
| 7 | Arcing | 2 | 4.8% | |
| 8 | Heat, spark from friction | 2 | 4.8% | |
| 9 | Match | 2 | 4.8% | |
| 10 | Cigarette lighter | 2 | 4.8% | |
| 11 | All other sources | 6 | 14.3% |
Largest single-incident property losses reported by Otisville 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 | $140,000 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
| 3 | $75,000 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
| 4 | $1,000 | Grass fire | Significant | Investigated |
| 5 | $500 | Brush, or brush and grass mixture fire | Significant | Investigated |
| 6 | $200 | Passenger vehicle fire | Significant | Investigated |
| 7 | $100 | Dumpster or other outside trash receptacle fire | Significant | Investigated |
| 8 | $10 | Trash or rubbish fire, contained | Significant | Investigated |
Per-capita rates let us compare apples to apples. Otisville sits above the national average for incidents per resident.
Top 25 wildfires (1992+) in the FPA-FOD ignitions database, scaled by acres. 2,001 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 | 30.0 mi | |
| 2012 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 257 | 47.9 mi | |
| 2020 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 143 | 44.0 mi | |
| 2003 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 116 | 46.2 mi | |
| 2018 | Equipment and vehicle use | 100 | 45.3 mi | |
| 1996 | Debris and open burning | 80 | 47.1 mi | |
| 2010 | Debris and open burning | 70 | 34.4 mi | |
| 2004 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 67 | 32.0 mi | |
| 2012 | Smoking | 64 | 16.3 mi | |
| 2009 | Debris and open burning | 63 | 30.3 mi | |
| 2006 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 61 | 33.7 mi | |
| 1994 | Debris and open burning | 60 | 43.2 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 Otisville. Useful comparison targets — same state, similar size, different fire profile.
1 departments report to NFIRS for incidents in Otisville.
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.