In 2025, fire departments serving Roscommon responded to 123 fire and hazmat incidents — from cooking fires to gas leaks to a single $375K 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 80% of all calls.
Mar peaks. Oct dips. Watch for the typical fall climb starting in October.
699 incidents 2021–2025. Peak year was 2021. $2.3M cumulative property loss. 1 civilian deaths.
| Year | Incidents | YoY | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2021 | 185 | — | |
| 2022 | 180 | -2.7% | |
| 2023 | 109 | -39.4% | |
| 2024 | 102 | -6.4% | |
| 2025 | 123 | +20.6% |
For the 11 building fires Roscommon departments responded to in 2025, here's how they were classified once investigators were finished.
NFIRS Area of Origin (AREA_ORIG) for the 89 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 | 15 | 16.9% | |
| 2 | Outside area, other | 12 | 13.5% | |
| 3 | Undetermined | 9 | 10.1% | |
| 4 | Vehicle storage area; garage, carport | 8 | 9.0% | |
| 5 | Open area - outside; included are farmland, field | 7 | 7.9% | |
| 6 | Wildland, woods | 6 | 6.7% | |
| 7 | Common room, den, family room, living room, lounge | 4 | 4.5% | |
| 8 | Vehicle area, other | 4 | 4.5% | |
| 9 | Other | 3 | 3.4% | |
| 10 | Cooking area, kitchen | 2 | 2.2% | |
| 11 | All other areas | 19 | 21.3% |
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 Roscommon mix.
| # | Heat source | Count | Share | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Undetermined | 38 | 42.7% | |
| 2 | Heat source: other | 6 | 6.7% | |
| 3 | Radiated, conducted heat from operating equipment | 6 | 6.7% | |
| 4 | Arcing | 5 | 5.6% | |
| 5 | Hot ember or ash | 5 | 5.6% | |
| 6 | Match | 5 | 5.6% | |
| 7 | Heat from powered equipment, other | 4 | 4.5% | |
| 8 | Flying brand, ember, spark | 4 | 4.5% | |
| 9 | Cigarette lighter | 3 | 3.4% | |
| 10 | Backfire from internal combustion engine | 2 | 2.2% | |
| 11 | All other sources | 11 | 12.4% |
Largest single-incident property losses reported by Roscommon departments in 2025. These 6 fires alone account for 100% of the city's annual total.
| # | Property loss | Type | Severity | Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | $375,000 | Building fires | Major | Investigated |
| 2 | $100,000 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
| 3 | $40,000 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
| 4 | $40,000 | Mobile property (vehicle) fire, other | Significant | Investigated |
| 5 | $1,500 | Forest, woods or wildland fire | Significant | Investigated |
| 6 | $4 | Fires in structures other than in a building | Significant | Investigated |
Per-capita rates let us compare apples to apples. Roscommon sits above the national average for incidents per resident.
Top 25 wildfires (1992+) in the FPA-FOD ignitions database, scaled by acres. 38,221 acres burned in this 50-mile radius. Each dot is a fire — bigger dots burned more land.
| Year | Cause | Acres | Distance | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2010 | Debris and open burning | 8,586 | 11.8 mi | |
| 2006 | Debris and open burning | 5,818 | 19.8 mi | |
| 2000 | Recreation and ceremony | 5,200 | 28.5 mi | |
| 2016 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 2,250 | 24.7 mi | |
| 2018 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 1,900 | 22.6 mi | |
| 2005 | Equipment and vehicle use | 1,557 | 19.2 mi | |
| 2008 | Railroad operations and maintenance | 1,345 | 10.5 mi | |
| 1998 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 1,238 | 12.5 mi | |
| 2010 | Debris and open burning | 1,040 | 16.5 mi | |
| 1999 | Equipment and vehicle use | 1,035 | 27.5 mi | |
| 2015 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 844 | 16.7 mi | |
| 1999 | Equipment and vehicle use | 840 | 27.6 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 Roscommon. Useful comparison targets — same state, similar size, different fire profile.
4 departments report to NFIRS for incidents in Roscommon.
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.