In 2025, fire departments serving Rockwood responded to 19 fire and hazmat incidents — from cooking fires to gas leaks to a single $60K 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 95% of all calls.
Sep peaks. Jan dips. Watch for the typical fall climb starting in October.
80 incidents 2021–2025. Peak year was 2023. $219K cumulative property loss.
| Year | Incidents | YoY | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2021 | 14 | — | |
| 2022 | 12 | -14.3% | |
| 2023 | 25 | +108.3% | |
| 2024 | 10 | -60.0% | |
| 2025 | 19 | +90.0% |
For the 7 building fires Rockwood departments responded to in 2025, here's how they were classified once investigators were finished.
NFIRS Area of Origin (AREA_ORIG) for the 17 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 | 23.5% | |
| 2 | Open area - outside; included are farmland, field | 3 | 17.6% | |
| 3 | Vehicle storage area; garage, carport | 2 | 11.8% | |
| 4 | Undetermined | 2 | 11.8% | |
| 5 | Other | 1 | 5.9% | |
| 6 | Cooking area, kitchen | 1 | 5.9% | |
| 7 | Chute/container - trash, rubbish, waste | 1 | 5.9% | |
| 8 | Wall surface: exterior | 1 | 5.9% | |
| 9 | Exterior, exposed surface | 1 | 5.9% | |
| 10 | Courtyard, patio, porch, terrace | 1 | 5.9% |
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 Rockwood mix.
| # | Heat source | Count | Share | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Radiated, conducted heat from operating equipment | 6 | 35.3% | |
| 2 | Undetermined | 5 | 29.4% | |
| 3 | Arcing | 2 | 11.8% | |
| 4 | Cigarette lighter | 2 | 11.8% | |
| 5 | Heat from powered equipment, other | 1 | 5.9% | |
| 6 | Flying brand, ember, spark | 1 | 5.9% |
Largest single-incident property losses reported by Rockwood departments in 2025. These 3 fires alone account for 100% of the city's annual total.
| # | Property loss | Type | Severity | Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | $60,000 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
| 2 | $50,000 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
| 3 | $600 | Special outside fire, other | Significant | Investigated |
Per-capita rates let us compare apples to apples. Rockwood sits below the national average for incidents per resident.
Top 25 wildfires (1992+) in the FPA-FOD ignitions database, scaled by acres. 1,074 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 | 4.3 mi | |
| 1996 | Debris and open burning | 98 | 42.7 mi | |
| 2019 | Equipment and vehicle use | 80 | 16.2 mi | |
| 2005 | Debris and open burning | 77 | 18.0 mi | |
| 2010 | Arson/incendiarism | 69 | 25.5 mi | |
| 2020 | Debris and open burning | 50 | 44.7 mi | |
| 2019 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 49 | 40.4 mi | |
| 2010 | Arson/incendiarism | 42 | 3.0 mi | |
| 1994 | Recreation and ceremony | 38 | 38.9 mi | |
| 1996 | Misuse of fire by a minor | 30 | 39.0 mi | |
| 2014 | Recreation and ceremony | 30 | 38.4 mi | |
| 2019 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 25 | 40.4 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 Rockwood. Useful comparison targets — same state, similar size, different fire profile.
1 departments report to NFIRS for incidents in Rockwood.
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.