In 2025, fire departments serving Pentwater responded to 28 fire and hazmat incidents — from cooking fires to gas leaks to a single $200 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 64% of all calls.
May peaks. Jan dips. Watch for the typical fall climb starting in October.
176 incidents 2021–2025. Peak year was 2021. $9.4M cumulative property loss.
| Year | Incidents | YoY | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2021 | 47 | — | |
| 2022 | 44 | -6.4% | |
| 2023 | 33 | -25.0% | |
| 2024 | 24 | -27.3% | |
| 2025 | 28 | +16.7% |
For the 4 building fires Pentwater departments responded to in 2025, here's how they were classified once investigators were finished.
NFIRS Area of Origin (AREA_ORIG) for the 21 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 | Other | 5 | 23.8% | |
| 2 | Undetermined | 5 | 23.8% | |
| 3 | Attic: vacant, crawl space above top story, cupola | 2 | 9.5% | |
| 4 | Engine area, running gear, wheel area | 2 | 9.5% | |
| 5 | Open area - outside; included are farmland, field | 2 | 9.5% | |
| 6 | Cooking area, kitchen | 1 | 4.8% | |
| 7 | Vehicle storage area; garage, carport | 1 | 4.8% | |
| 8 | Substructure area or space, crawl space | 1 | 4.8% | |
| 9 | Outside area, other | 1 | 4.8% | |
| 10 | Courtyard, patio, porch, terrace | 1 | 4.8% |
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 Pentwater mix.
| # | Heat source | Count | Share | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Undetermined | 12 | 57.1% | |
| 2 | Heat from powered equipment, other | 2 | 9.5% | |
| 3 | Hot or smoldering object, other | 2 | 9.5% | |
| 4 | Heat source: other | 1 | 4.8% | |
| 5 | Spark, ember or flame from operating equipment | 1 | 4.8% | |
| 6 | Flame/torch used for lighting | 1 | 4.8% | |
| 7 | Heat from direct flame, convection currents | 1 | 4.8% | |
| 8 | Conducted heat from another fire | 1 | 4.8% |
Largest single-incident property losses reported by Pentwater departments in 2025. These 1 fires alone account for 100% of the city's annual total.
| # | Property loss | Type | Severity | Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | $200 | Fire, other | Significant | Investigated |
Per-capita rates let us compare apples to apples. Pentwater sits above the national average for incidents per resident.
Top 25 wildfires (1992+) in the FPA-FOD ignitions database, scaled by acres. 4,309 acres burned in this 50-mile radius. Each dot is a fire — bigger dots burned more land.
| Year | Cause | Acres | Distance | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1994 | Recreation and ceremony | 910 | 28.1 mi | |
| 2003 | Debris and open burning | 764 | 42.0 mi | |
| 2003 | Arson/incendiarism | 275 | 34.2 mi | |
| 1995 | Natural | 200 | 28.5 mi | |
| 2010 | Power generation/transmission/distribution | 175 | 37.5 mi | |
| 2003 | Debris and open burning | 162 | 46.2 mi | |
| 2011 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 152 | 39.4 mi | |
| 1994 | Arson/incendiarism | 151 | 26.1 mi | |
| 2008 | Debris and open burning | 133 | 44.5 mi | |
| 2010 | Natural | 118 | 26.0 mi | |
| 1994 | Recreation and ceremony | 107 | 37.0 mi | |
| 2003 | Arson/incendiarism | 106 | 24.1 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 Pentwater. Useful comparison targets — same state, similar size, different fire profile.
1 departments report to NFIRS for incidents in Pentwater.
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.