In 2025, fire departments serving Ovid responded to 34 fire and hazmat incidents — from cooking fires to gas leaks to a single $300K 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 59% of all calls.
Mar peaks. Oct dips. Watch for the typical fall climb starting in October.
221 incidents 2021–2025. Peak year was 2022. $3.2M cumulative property loss.
| Year | Incidents | YoY | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2021 | 39 | — | |
| 2022 | 56 | +43.6% | |
| 2023 | 47 | -16.1% | |
| 2024 | 45 | -4.3% | |
| 2025 | 34 | -24.4% |
For the 6 building fires Ovid departments responded to in 2025, here's how they were classified once investigators were finished.
NFIRS Area of Origin (AREA_ORIG) for the 60 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 | 15 | 25.0% | |
| 2 | Other | 10 | 16.7% | |
| 3 | Open area - outside; included are farmland, field | 5 | 8.3% | |
| 4 | Vehicle storage area; garage, carport | 4 | 6.7% | |
| 5 | Engine area, running gear, wheel area | 4 | 6.7% | |
| 6 | Undetermined | 4 | 6.7% | |
| 7 | Cooking area, kitchen | 3 | 5.0% | |
| 8 | Laundry area, wash house (laundry) | 3 | 5.0% | |
| 9 | Storage area, other | 3 | 5.0% | |
| 10 | Switchgear area, transformer vault | 2 | 3.3% | |
| 11 | All other areas | 7 | 11.7% |
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 Ovid mix.
| # | Heat source | Count | Share | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Undetermined | 22 | 36.7% | |
| 2 | Heat from powered equipment, other | 7 | 11.7% | |
| 3 | Hot ember or ash | 6 | 10.0% | |
| 4 | Heat source: other | 5 | 8.3% | |
| 5 | Arcing | 5 | 8.3% | |
| 6 | Spark, ember or flame from operating equipment | 3 | 5.0% | |
| 7 | Hot or smoldering object, other | 3 | 5.0% | |
| 8 | Match | 2 | 3.3% | |
| 9 | Flame/torch used for lighting | 2 | 3.3% | |
| 10 | Radiated, conducted heat from operating equipment | 1 | 1.7% | |
| 11 | All other sources | 4 | 6.7% |
Largest single-incident property losses reported by Ovid departments in 2025. These 4 fires alone account for 100% of the city's annual total.
| # | Property loss | Type | Severity | Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | $300,000 | Building fires | Major | Investigated |
| 2 | $150,000 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
| 3 | $30,000 | Mobile property (vehicle) fire, other | Significant | Investigated |
| 4 | $500 | Off-road vehicle or heavy equipment fire | Significant | Investigated |
Per-capita rates let us compare apples to apples. Ovid sits above the national average for incidents per resident.
Top 25 wildfires (1992+) in the FPA-FOD ignitions database, scaled by acres. 2,086 acres burned in this 50-mile radius. Each dot is a fire — bigger dots burned more land.
| Year | Cause | Acres | Distance | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2003 | Debris and open burning | 191 | 30.1 mi | |
| 2003 | Recreation and ceremony | 155 | 49.8 mi | |
| 1994 | Arson/incendiarism | 150 | 47.2 mi | |
| 2020 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 143 | 26.1 mi | |
| 1996 | Arson/incendiarism | 142 | 33.7 mi | |
| 1996 | Equipment and vehicle use | 119 | 49.9 mi | |
| 2018 | Equipment and vehicle use | 100 | 36.2 mi | |
| 1996 | Arson/incendiarism | 96 | 48.1 mi | |
| 2003 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 92 | 43.3 mi | |
| 1996 | Debris and open burning | 80 | 11.3 mi | |
| 2003 | Equipment and vehicle use | 70 | 24.3 mi | |
| 1994 | Arson/incendiarism | 70 | 43.1 mi |
Top 4 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 Ovid. Useful comparison targets — same state, similar size, different fire profile.
1 departments report to NFIRS for incidents in Ovid.
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.