In 2025, fire departments serving Petersburg responded to 51 fire and hazmat incidents — from cooking fires to gas leaks to a single $400K 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 72% of all calls.
Oct peaks. Feb dips. Watch for the typical fall climb starting in October.
387 incidents 2021–2025. Peak year was 2023. $3.4M cumulative property loss. 1 civilian deaths.
| Year | Incidents | YoY | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2021 | 72 | — | |
| 2022 | 87 | +20.8% | |
| 2023 | 128 | +47.1% | |
| 2024 | 49 | -61.7% | |
| 2025 | 51 | +4.1% |
For the 8 building fires Petersburg departments responded to in 2025, here's how they were classified once investigators were finished.
NFIRS Area of Origin (AREA_ORIG) for the 97 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 | Open area - outside; included are farmland, field | 36 | 37.1% | |
| 2 | Engine area, running gear, wheel area | 11 | 11.3% | |
| 3 | Highway, parking lot, street: on or near | 9 | 9.3% | |
| 4 | Wall surface: exterior | 4 | 4.1% | |
| 5 | Outside area, other | 4 | 4.1% | |
| 6 | Undetermined | 4 | 4.1% | |
| 7 | Vehicle storage area; garage, carport | 3 | 3.1% | |
| 8 | Railroad right of way: on or near | 3 | 3.1% | |
| 9 | Wildland, woods | 3 | 3.1% | |
| 10 | Common room, den, family room, living room, lounge | 2 | 2.1% | |
| 11 | All other areas | 18 | 18.6% |
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 Petersburg mix.
| # | Heat source | Count | Share | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Undetermined | 47 | 48.5% | |
| 2 | Hot ember or ash | 13 | 13.4% | |
| 3 | Flame/torch used for lighting | 8 | 8.2% | |
| 4 | Spark, ember or flame from operating equipment | 5 | 5.2% | |
| 5 | Radiated, conducted heat from operating equipment | 5 | 5.2% | |
| 6 | Flying brand, ember, spark | 4 | 4.1% | |
| 7 | Multiple heat sources including multiple ignitions | 4 | 4.1% | |
| 8 | Heat from powered equipment, other | 3 | 3.1% | |
| 9 | Arcing | 3 | 3.1% | |
| 10 | Heat, spark from friction | 2 | 2.1% | |
| 11 | All other sources | 3 | 3.1% |
Largest single-incident property losses reported by Petersburg departments in 2025. These 3 fires alone account for 100% of the city's annual total.
| # | Property loss | Type | Severity | Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | $400,000 | Building fires | Major | Investigated |
| 2 | $30,000 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
| 3 | $2,000 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
Per-capita rates let us compare apples to apples. Petersburg sits above the national average for incidents per resident.
Top 25 wildfires (1992+) in the FPA-FOD ignitions database, scaled by acres. 1,330 acres burned in this 50-mile radius. Each dot is a fire — bigger dots burned more land.
| Year | Cause | Acres | Distance | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2019 | Debris and open burning | 300 | 26.2 mi | |
| 2018 | Equipment and vehicle use | 100 | 48.9 mi | |
| 1996 | Debris and open burning | 98 | 26.6 mi | |
| 1996 | Arson/incendiarism | 96 | 39.3 mi | |
| 2019 | Equipment and vehicle use | 80 | 10.7 mi | |
| 2005 | Debris and open burning | 77 | 12.0 mi | |
| 2010 | Arson/incendiarism | 69 | 16.3 mi | |
| 2015 | Equipment and vehicle use | 50 | 44.6 mi | |
| 2010 | Arson/incendiarism | 42 | 28.3 mi | |
| 2019 | Debris and open burning | 40 | 26.2 mi | |
| 2018 | Equipment and vehicle use | 40 | 42.1 mi | |
| 1994 | Recreation and ceremony | 38 | 42.1 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 Petersburg. Useful comparison targets — same state, similar size, different fire profile.
1 departments report to NFIRS for incidents in Petersburg.
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.