In 2025, fire departments serving Sheridan responded to 54 fire and hazmat incidents . Here's the full picture.
Power line down lead by count. Building fires lead by dollars. Together the top five categories make up about 65% of all calls.
Mar peaks. Jan dips. Watch for the typical fall climb starting in October.
296 incidents 2021–2025. Peak year was 2024. $710K cumulative property loss.
| Year | Incidents | YoY | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2021 | 52 | — | |
| 2022 | 36 | -30.8% | |
| 2023 | 74 | +105.6% | |
| 2024 | 80 | +8.1% | |
| 2025 | 54 | -32.5% |
For the 7 building fires Sheridan departments responded to in 2025, here's how they were classified once investigators were finished.
NFIRS Area of Origin (AREA_ORIG) for the 14 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 | 5 | 35.7% | |
| 2 | Vehicle area, other | 3 | 21.4% | |
| 3 | Engine area, running gear, wheel area | 2 | 14.3% | |
| 4 | Cooking area, kitchen | 1 | 7.1% | |
| 5 | Equipment or service area, other | 1 | 7.1% | |
| 6 | Structural area, other | 1 | 7.1% | |
| 7 | Operator/passenger area of transportation equip. | 1 | 7.1% |
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 Sheridan mix.
| # | Heat source | Count | Share | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Undetermined | 11 | 78.6% | |
| 2 | Heat from powered equipment, other | 2 | 14.3% | |
| 3 | Heat, spark from friction | 1 | 7.1% |
Per-capita rates let us compare apples to apples. Sheridan sits above the national average for incidents per resident.
Top 25 wildfires (1992+) in the FPA-FOD ignitions database, scaled by acres. 2,195 acres burned in this 50-mile radius. Each dot is a fire — bigger dots burned more land.
| Year | Cause | Acres | Distance | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2003 | Debris and open burning | 191 | 9.2 mi | |
| 2003 | Debris and open burning | 162 | 32.8 mi | |
| 2003 | Recreation and ceremony | 155 | 48.0 mi | |
| 1994 | Arson/incendiarism | 150 | 14.5 mi | |
| 1996 | Equipment and vehicle use | 119 | 38.8 mi | |
| 1994 | Recreation and ceremony | 107 | 45.5 mi | |
| 2018 | Arson/incendiarism | 105 | 34.1 mi | |
| 2018 | Arson/incendiarism | 105 | 33.9 mi | |
| 1994 | Debris and open burning | 100 | 15.9 mi | |
| 2003 | Debris and open burning | 96 | 33.8 mi | |
| 2003 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 92 | 30.8 mi | |
| 1996 | Debris and open burning | 80 | 44.8 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 Sheridan. Useful comparison targets — same state, similar size, different fire profile.
1 departments report to NFIRS for incidents in Sheridan.
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.