In 2025, fire departments serving Scottville responded to 48 fire and hazmat incidents — from cooking fires to gas leaks to a single $8K 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 75% of all calls.
Apr peaks. Nov dips. Watch for the typical fall climb starting in October.
243 incidents 2021–2025. Peak year was 2021. $572K cumulative property loss.
| Year | Incidents | YoY | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2021 | 65 | — | |
| 2022 | 46 | -29.2% | |
| 2023 | 47 | +2.2% | |
| 2024 | 37 | -21.3% | |
| 2025 | 48 | +29.7% |
For the 9 building fires Scottville departments responded to in 2025, here's how they were classified once investigators were finished.
NFIRS Area of Origin (AREA_ORIG) for the 37 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 | Undetermined | 15 | 40.5% | |
| 2 | Engine area, running gear, wheel area | 4 | 10.8% | |
| 3 | Outside area, other | 3 | 8.1% | |
| 4 | Other | 2 | 5.4% | |
| 5 | Storage area, other | 2 | 5.4% | |
| 6 | Bedroom - < 5 persons; included are jail or prison | 1 | 2.7% | |
| 7 | Dining room, cafeteria bar area, beverage service | 1 | 2.7% | |
| 8 | Bathroom, checkroom, lavatory, locker room | 1 | 2.7% | |
| 9 | Laundry area, wash house (laundry) | 1 | 2.7% | |
| 10 | Vehicle storage area; garage, carport | 1 | 2.7% | |
| 11 | All other areas | 6 | 16.2% |
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 Scottville mix.
| # | Heat source | Count | Share | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Undetermined | 24 | 64.9% | |
| 2 | Arcing | 4 | 10.8% | |
| 3 | Heat source: other | 3 | 8.1% | |
| 4 | Spark, ember or flame from operating equipment | 1 | 2.7% | |
| 5 | Radiated, conducted heat from operating equipment | 1 | 2.7% | |
| 6 | Hot ember or ash | 1 | 2.7% | |
| 7 | Heat from other open flame or smoking materials | 1 | 2.7% | |
| 8 | Heat from direct flame, convection currents | 1 | 2.7% | |
| 9 | Radiated heat from another fire | 1 | 2.7% |
Largest single-incident property losses reported by Scottville departments in 2025. These 3 fires alone account for 100% of the city's annual total.
| # | Property loss | Type | Severity | Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | $8,000 | Passenger vehicle fire | Significant | Investigated |
| 2 | $5,500 | Passenger vehicle fire | Significant | Investigated |
| 3 | $4,000 | Mobile property (vehicle) fire, other | Significant | Investigated |
Per-capita rates let us compare apples to apples. Scottville sits above the national average for incidents per resident.
Top 25 wildfires (1992+) in the FPA-FOD ignitions database, scaled by acres. 4,404 acres burned in this 50-mile radius. Each dot is a fire — bigger dots burned more land.
| Year | Cause | Acres | Distance | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1994 | Recreation and ceremony | 910 | 22.3 mi | |
| 2003 | Debris and open burning | 764 | 28.3 mi | |
| 2003 | Arson/incendiarism | 275 | 43.1 mi | |
| 1995 | Natural | 200 | 14.6 mi | |
| 2010 | Power generation/transmission/distribution | 175 | 47.6 mi | |
| 2003 | Debris and open burning | 162 | 48.7 mi | |
| 2011 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 152 | 29.1 mi | |
| 1994 | Arson/incendiarism | 151 | 34.5 mi | |
| 2019 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 140 | 49.8 mi | |
| 2008 | Debris and open burning | 133 | 31.4 mi | |
| 2010 | Natural | 118 | 13.4 mi | |
| 1994 | Recreation and ceremony | 107 | 43.2 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 Scottville. Useful comparison targets — same state, similar size, different fire profile.
1 departments report to NFIRS for incidents in Scottville.
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.