In 2025, fire departments serving Saline responded to 119 fire and hazmat incidents — from cooking fires to gas leaks to a single $500K building blaze. Here's the full picture.
Gas leak (natural gas or LPG) lead by count. Building fires lead by dollars. Together the top five categories make up about 71% of all calls.
Jul peaks. Feb dips. Watch for the typical fall climb starting in October.
687 incidents 2021–2025. Peak year was 2023. $2.1M cumulative property loss.
| Year | Incidents | YoY | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2021 | 99 | — | |
| 2022 | 129 | +30.3% | |
| 2023 | 199 | +54.3% | |
| 2024 | 141 | -29.1% | |
| 2025 | 119 | -15.6% |
For the 15 building fires Saline departments responded to in 2025, here's how they were classified once investigators were finished.
NFIRS Area of Origin (AREA_ORIG) for the 84 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 | 14 | 16.7% | |
| 2 | Outside area, other | 11 | 13.1% | |
| 3 | Engine area, running gear, wheel area | 9 | 10.7% | |
| 4 | Cooking area, kitchen | 8 | 9.5% | |
| 5 | Vehicle area, other | 7 | 8.3% | |
| 6 | Undetermined | 7 | 8.3% | |
| 7 | Bedroom - < 5 persons; included are jail or prison | 3 | 3.6% | |
| 8 | Laundry area, wash house (laundry) | 3 | 3.6% | |
| 9 | Wall assembly | 2 | 2.4% | |
| 10 | Cargo/trunk area - all vehicles | 2 | 2.4% | |
| 11 | All other areas | 18 | 21.4% |
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 Saline mix.
| # | Heat source | Count | Share | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Undetermined | 28 | 33.3% | |
| 2 | Arcing | 9 | 10.7% | |
| 3 | Hot ember or ash | 9 | 10.7% | |
| 4 | Heat from powered equipment, other | 8 | 9.5% | |
| 5 | Radiated, conducted heat from operating equipment | 8 | 9.5% | |
| 6 | Hot or smoldering object, other | 4 | 4.8% | |
| 7 | Heat source: other | 3 | 3.6% | |
| 8 | Spark, ember or flame from operating equipment | 3 | 3.6% | |
| 9 | Cigarette lighter | 3 | 3.6% | |
| 10 | Heat from other open flame or smoking materials | 2 | 2.4% | |
| 11 | All other sources | 7 | 8.3% |
Largest single-incident property losses reported by Saline departments in 2025. These 8 fires alone account for 100% of the city's annual total.
| # | Property loss | Type | Severity | Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | $500,000 | Building fires | Major | Investigated |
| 2 | $350,000 | Building fires | Major | Investigated |
| 3 | $32,000 | Off-road vehicle or heavy equipment fire | Significant | Investigated |
| 4 | $5,000 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
| 5 | $2,000 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
| 6 | $2,000 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
| 7 | $1,000 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
| 8 | $1,000 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
Per-capita rates let us compare apples to apples. Saline sits above the national average for incidents per resident.
Top 25 wildfires (1992+) in the FPA-FOD ignitions database, scaled by acres. 1,806 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 | 30.5 mi | |
| 2020 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 143 | 38.8 mi | |
| 1996 | Arson/incendiarism | 142 | 35.3 mi | |
| 2018 | Equipment and vehicle use | 100 | 29.7 mi | |
| 1996 | Debris and open burning | 98 | 14.6 mi | |
| 1996 | Arson/incendiarism | 96 | 25.5 mi | |
| 2019 | Equipment and vehicle use | 80 | 19.8 mi | |
| 2005 | Debris and open burning | 77 | 12.9 mi | |
| 2003 | Equipment and vehicle use | 70 | 41.3 mi | |
| 2010 | Arson/incendiarism | 69 | 33.5 mi | |
| 1994 | Debris and open burning | 60 | 49.7 mi | |
| 2017 | Power generation/transmission/distribution | 51 | 39.1 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 Saline. Useful comparison targets — same state, similar size, different fire profile.
1 departments report to NFIRS for incidents in Saline.
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.