In 2025, fire departments serving Port Sanilac responded to 10 fire and hazmat incidents . Here's the full picture.
Power line down lead by count. Building fires lead by dollars. Together the top five categories make up about 60% of all calls.
Apr peaks. Jan dips. Watch for the typical fall climb starting in October.
69 incidents 2021–2025. Peak year was 2021. $30K cumulative property loss.
| Year | Incidents | YoY | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2021 | 24 | — | |
| 2022 | 15 | -37.5% | |
| 2023 | 9 | -40.0% | |
| 2024 | 11 | +22.2% | |
| 2025 | 10 | -9.1% |
For the 1 building fires Port Sanilac departments responded to in 2025, here's how they were classified once investigators were finished.
NFIRS Area of Origin (AREA_ORIG) for the 14 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 | 4 | 28.6% | |
| 2 | Open area - outside; included are farmland, field | 2 | 14.3% | |
| 3 | Undetermined | 2 | 14.3% | |
| 4 | Exterior stairway, ramp, or fire escape | 1 | 7.1% | |
| 5 | Bedroom - 5+ persons; including barrack/dormitory | 1 | 7.1% | |
| 6 | Storage area, other | 1 | 7.1% | |
| 7 | Attic: vacant, crawl space above top story, cupola | 1 | 7.1% | |
| 8 | Vehicle area, other | 1 | 7.1% | |
| 9 | Wildland, woods | 1 | 7.1% |
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 Port Sanilac mix.
| # | Heat source | Count | Share | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Undetermined | 7 | 50.0% | |
| 2 | Arcing | 2 | 14.3% | |
| 3 | Heat from powered equipment, other | 1 | 7.1% | |
| 4 | Hot ember or ash | 1 | 7.1% | |
| 5 | Cigarette lighter | 1 | 7.1% | |
| 6 | Candle | 1 | 7.1% | |
| 7 | Heat spread from another fire, other | 1 | 7.1% |
Per-capita rates let us compare apples to apples. Port Sanilac sits above the national average for incidents per resident.
Top 23 wildfires (1992+) in the FPA-FOD ignitions database, scaled by acres. 801 acres burned in this 50-mile radius. Each dot is a fire — bigger dots burned more land.
| Year | Cause | Acres | Distance | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2003 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 116 | 19.2 mi | |
| 2010 | Debris and open burning | 70 | 35.9 mi | |
| 2005 | Equipment and vehicle use | 66 | 42.1 mi | |
| 2012 | Smoking | 64 | 39.5 mi | |
| 1994 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 60 | 34.5 mi | |
| 2003 | Debris and open burning | 53 | 35.3 mi | |
| 2001 | Fireworks | 40 | 18.7 mi | |
| 2020 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 37 | 45.4 mi | |
| 2005 | Debris and open burning | 36 | 35.0 mi | |
| 2003 | Equipment and vehicle use | 33 | 32.8 mi | |
| 2018 | Equipment and vehicle use | 30 | 19.2 mi | |
| 2019 | Power generation/transmission/distribution | 27 | 49.9 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 | 48469 | 69 |
Six Michigan cities with population within ±25% of Port Sanilac. Useful comparison targets — same state, similar size, different fire profile.
1 departments report to NFIRS for incidents in Port Sanilac.
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.