In 2025, fire departments serving Parchment responded to 46 fire and hazmat incidents — from cooking fires to gas leaks to a single $25K 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 85% of all calls.
May peaks. Sep dips. Watch for the typical fall climb starting in October.
138 incidents 2021–2025. Peak year was 2025. $120K cumulative property loss.
| Year | Incidents | YoY | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2021 | 21 | — | |
| 2022 | 28 | +33.3% | |
| 2023 | 21 | -25.0% | |
| 2024 | 22 | +4.8% | |
| 2025 | 46 | +109.1% |
For the 18 building fires Parchment departments responded to in 2025, here's how they were classified once investigators were finished.
NFIRS Area of Origin (AREA_ORIG) for the 20 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 | 7 | 35.0% | |
| 2 | Laundry area, wash house (laundry) | 2 | 10.0% | |
| 3 | Engine area, running gear, wheel area | 2 | 10.0% | |
| 4 | Bedroom - < 5 persons; included are jail or prison | 1 | 5.0% | |
| 5 | Cooking area, kitchen | 1 | 5.0% | |
| 6 | Bathroom, checkroom, lavatory, locker room | 1 | 5.0% | |
| 7 | Processing/manufacturing area, workroom | 1 | 5.0% | |
| 8 | Shipping/receiving area; loading area, dock or bay | 1 | 5.0% | |
| 9 | Vehicle storage area; garage, carport | 1 | 5.0% | |
| 10 | Maintenance shop or area, paint shop or area | 1 | 5.0% | |
| 11 | All other areas | 2 | 10.0% |
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 Parchment mix.
| # | Heat source | Count | Share | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Undetermined | 16 | 80.0% | |
| 2 | Radiated, conducted heat from operating equipment | 2 | 10.0% | |
| 3 | Arcing | 1 | 5.0% | |
| 4 | Incendiary device | 1 | 5.0% |
Largest single-incident property losses reported by Parchment departments in 2025. These 4 fires alone account for 100% of the city's annual total.
| # | Property loss | Type | Severity | Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | $25,000 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
| 2 | $25,000 | Passenger vehicle fire | Significant | Investigated |
| 3 | $20,000 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
| 4 | $5,000 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
Per-capita rates let us compare apples to apples. Parchment sits above the national average for incidents per resident.
Top 25 wildfires (1992+) in the FPA-FOD ignitions database, scaled by acres. 1,376 acres burned in this 50-mile radius. Each dot is a fire — bigger dots burned more land.
| Year | Cause | Acres | Distance | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2014 | Debris and open burning | 154 | 43.8 mi | |
| 1996 | Equipment and vehicle use | 119 | 28.4 mi | |
| 2018 | Natural | 105 | 28.4 mi | |
| 1993 | Smoking | 90 | 28.2 mi | |
| 1995 | Smoking | 71 | 30.6 mi | |
| 2011 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 66 | 23.8 mi | |
| 2015 | Debris and open burning | 57 | 34.5 mi | |
| 2013 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 52 | 15.2 mi | |
| 1996 | Equipment and vehicle use | 51 | 28.4 mi | |
| 2019 | Debris and open burning | 50 | 33.3 mi | |
| 1994 | Debris and open burning | 50 | 31.2 mi | |
| 2005 | Debris and open burning | 43 | 32.1 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 | 49004 | 138 |
Six Michigan cities with population within ±25% of Parchment. Useful comparison targets — same state, similar size, different fire profile.
1 departments report to NFIRS for incidents in Parchment.
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.