In 2025, fire departments serving Shelby responded to 61 fire and hazmat incidents — from cooking fires to gas leaks to a single $200K 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 76% of all calls.
Mar peaks. Dec dips. Watch for the typical fall climb starting in October.
322 incidents 2021–2025. Peak year was 2024. $1.0M cumulative property loss. 2 civilian deaths.
| Year | Incidents | YoY | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2021 | 62 | — | |
| 2022 | 55 | -11.3% | |
| 2023 | 67 | +21.8% | |
| 2024 | 77 | +14.9% | |
| 2025 | 61 | -20.8% |
For the 13 building fires Shelby departments responded to in 2025, here's how they were classified once investigators were finished.
NFIRS Area of Origin (AREA_ORIG) for the 51 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 | Other | 8 | 15.7% | |
| 2 | Engine area, running gear, wheel area | 6 | 11.8% | |
| 3 | Undetermined | 6 | 11.8% | |
| 4 | Common room, den, family room, living room, lounge | 3 | 5.9% | |
| 5 | Cooking area, kitchen | 3 | 5.9% | |
| 6 | Storage area, other | 3 | 5.9% | |
| 7 | Structural area, other | 3 | 5.9% | |
| 8 | Laundry area, wash house (laundry) | 2 | 3.9% | |
| 9 | Substructure area or space, crawl space | 2 | 3.9% | |
| 10 | Function area, other | 1 | 2.0% | |
| 11 | All other areas | 14 | 27.5% |
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 Shelby mix.
| # | Heat source | Count | Share | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Heat from powered equipment, other | 13 | 25.5% | |
| 2 | Undetermined | 13 | 25.5% | |
| 3 | Hot ember or ash | 8 | 15.7% | |
| 4 | Heat source: other | 3 | 5.9% | |
| 5 | Radiated, conducted heat from operating equipment | 3 | 5.9% | |
| 6 | Arcing | 2 | 3.9% | |
| 7 | Hot or smoldering object, other | 2 | 3.9% | |
| 8 | Spark, ember or flame from operating equipment | 1 | 2.0% | |
| 9 | Heat, spark from friction | 1 | 2.0% | |
| 10 | Heat from other open flame or smoking materials | 1 | 2.0% | |
| 11 | All other sources | 4 | 7.8% |
Largest single-incident property losses reported by Shelby departments in 2025. These 6 fires alone account for 100% of the city's annual total.
| # | Property loss | Type | Severity | Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | $200,000 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
| 2 | $70,000 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
| 3 | $10,000 | Outside equipment fire | Significant | Investigated |
| 4 | $5,000 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
| 5 | $5,000 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
| 6 | $1,000 | Outside equipment fire | Significant | Investigated |
Per-capita rates let us compare apples to apples. Shelby sits above the national average for incidents per resident.
Top 25 wildfires (1992+) in the FPA-FOD ignitions database, scaled by acres. 4,209 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 | 28.6 mi | |
| 2003 | Debris and open burning | 764 | 49.5 mi | |
| 2003 | Arson/incendiarism | 275 | 22.5 mi | |
| 1995 | Natural | 200 | 37.1 mi | |
| 2010 | Power generation/transmission/distribution | 175 | 25.5 mi | |
| 2003 | Debris and open burning | 162 | 37.7 mi | |
| 2011 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 152 | 42.4 mi | |
| 1994 | Arson/incendiarism | 151 | 15.0 mi | |
| 2010 | Natural | 118 | 32.9 mi | |
| 1994 | Recreation and ceremony | 107 | 26.5 mi | |
| 2003 | Arson/incendiarism | 106 | 14.1 mi | |
| 2018 | Arson/incendiarism | 105 | 36.4 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 Shelby. Useful comparison targets — same state, similar size, different fire profile.
2 departments report to NFIRS for incidents in Shelby.
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.