In 2025, fire departments serving Riverview responded to 42 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 48% of all calls.
Jul peaks. Sep dips. Watch for the typical fall climb starting in October.
267 incidents 2021–2025. Peak year was 2023. $862K cumulative property loss.
| Year | Incidents | YoY | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2021 | 38 | — | |
| 2022 | 44 | +15.8% | |
| 2023 | 92 | +109.1% | |
| 2024 | 51 | -44.6% | |
| 2025 | 42 | -17.6% |
For the 5 building fires Riverview departments responded to in 2025, here's how they were classified once investigators were finished.
NFIRS Area of Origin (AREA_ORIG) for the 55 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 | Cooking area, kitchen | 12 | 21.8% | |
| 2 | Outside area, other | 5 | 9.1% | |
| 3 | Other | 4 | 7.3% | |
| 4 | Vehicle storage area; garage, carport | 4 | 7.3% | |
| 5 | Open area - outside; included are farmland, field | 4 | 7.3% | |
| 6 | Engine area, running gear, wheel area | 3 | 5.5% | |
| 7 | Bathroom, checkroom, lavatory, locker room | 2 | 3.6% | |
| 8 | Chute/container - trash, rubbish, waste | 2 | 3.6% | |
| 9 | Courtyard, patio, porch, terrace | 2 | 3.6% | |
| 10 | Undetermined | 2 | 3.6% | |
| 11 | All other areas | 15 | 27.3% |
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 Riverview mix.
| # | Heat source | Count | Share | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Undetermined | 11 | 20.0% | |
| 2 | Hot or smoldering object, other | 8 | 14.5% | |
| 3 | Heat source: other | 6 | 10.9% | |
| 4 | Heat from powered equipment, other | 6 | 10.9% | |
| 5 | Spark, ember or flame from operating equipment | 4 | 7.3% | |
| 6 | Cigarette | 4 | 7.3% | |
| 7 | Cigarette lighter | 4 | 7.3% | |
| 8 | Radiated, conducted heat from operating equipment | 3 | 5.5% | |
| 9 | Arcing | 2 | 3.6% | |
| 10 | Candle | 2 | 3.6% | |
| 11 | All other sources | 5 | 9.1% |
Largest single-incident property losses reported by Riverview 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 | $30,000 | Outside equipment fire | Significant | Investigated |
| 3 | $30,000 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
| 4 | $2,500 | Passenger vehicle fire | Significant | Investigated |
Per-capita rates let us compare apples to apples. Riverview sits below the national average for incidents per resident.
Top 25 wildfires (1992+) in the FPA-FOD ignitions database, scaled by acres. 1,159 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 | 11.3 mi | |
| 2018 | Equipment and vehicle use | 100 | 47.7 mi | |
| 1996 | Debris and open burning | 98 | 44.4 mi | |
| 2019 | Equipment and vehicle use | 80 | 22.3 mi | |
| 2005 | Debris and open burning | 77 | 22.1 mi | |
| 2010 | Arson/incendiarism | 69 | 32.9 mi | |
| 2020 | Debris and open burning | 50 | 40.1 mi | |
| 2019 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 49 | 33.0 mi | |
| 2010 | Arson/incendiarism | 42 | 8.9 mi | |
| 1994 | Recreation and ceremony | 38 | 35.5 mi | |
| 1996 | Misuse of fire by a minor | 30 | 34.3 mi | |
| 2014 | Recreation and ceremony | 30 | 33.6 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 Riverview. Useful comparison targets — same state, similar size, different fire profile.
1 departments report to NFIRS for incidents in Riverview.
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.