In 2025, fire departments serving South Lyon responded to 128 fire and hazmat incidents — from cooking fires to gas leaks to a single $482K 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 66% of all calls.
Apr peaks. Dec dips. Watch for the typical fall climb starting in October.
746 incidents 2021–2025. Peak year was 2023. $1.9M cumulative property loss.
| Year | Incidents | YoY | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2021 | 129 | — | |
| 2022 | 122 | -5.4% | |
| 2023 | 216 | +77.0% | |
| 2024 | 151 | -30.1% | |
| 2025 | 128 | -15.2% |
For the 20 building fires South Lyon departments responded to in 2025, here's how they were classified once investigators were finished.
NFIRS Area of Origin (AREA_ORIG) for the 122 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 | Cooking area, kitchen | 15 | 12.3% | |
| 2 | Outside area, other | 15 | 12.3% | |
| 3 | Engine area, running gear, wheel area | 14 | 11.5% | |
| 4 | Open area - outside; included are farmland, field | 12 | 9.8% | |
| 5 | Other | 11 | 9.0% | |
| 6 | Undetermined | 10 | 8.2% | |
| 7 | Vehicle storage area; garage, carport | 5 | 4.1% | |
| 8 | Exterior balcony, unenclosed porch | 5 | 4.1% | |
| 9 | Wildland, woods | 5 | 4.1% | |
| 10 | Common room, den, family room, living room, lounge | 4 | 3.3% | |
| 11 | All other areas | 26 | 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 South Lyon mix.
| # | Heat source | Count | Share | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Undetermined | 41 | 33.6% | |
| 2 | Heat source: other | 21 | 17.2% | |
| 3 | Heat from powered equipment, other | 11 | 9.0% | |
| 4 | Arcing | 7 | 5.7% | |
| 5 | Hot or smoldering object, other | 7 | 5.7% | |
| 6 | Radiated, conducted heat from operating equipment | 6 | 4.9% | |
| 7 | Spark, ember or flame from operating equipment | 5 | 4.1% | |
| 8 | Heat from other open flame or smoking materials | 4 | 3.3% | |
| 9 | Hot ember or ash | 3 | 2.5% | |
| 10 | Cigarette | 2 | 1.6% | |
| 11 | All other sources | 15 | 12.3% |
Largest single-incident property losses reported by South Lyon departments in 2025. These 8 fires alone account for 100% of the city's annual total.
| # | Property loss | Type | Severity | Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | $482,300 | Building fires | Major | Investigated |
| 2 | $329,600 | Building fires | Major | Investigated |
| 3 | $300,000 | Building fires | Major | Investigated |
| 4 | $50,000 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
| 5 | $30,000 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
| 6 | $10,000 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
| 7 | $3,000 | Mobile property (vehicle) fire, other | Significant | Investigated |
| 8 | $1,500 | Incinerator overload or malfunction, fire confined | Significant | Investigated |
Per-capita rates let us compare apples to apples. South Lyon sits above the national average for incidents per resident.
Top 25 wildfires (1992+) in the FPA-FOD ignitions database, scaled by acres. 1,802 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 | 38.0 mi | |
| 2020 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 143 | 27.3 mi | |
| 1996 | Arson/incendiarism | 142 | 32.6 mi | |
| 2018 | Equipment and vehicle use | 100 | 17.1 mi | |
| 1996 | Debris and open burning | 98 | 28.4 mi | |
| 1996 | Arson/incendiarism | 96 | 31.7 mi | |
| 2019 | Equipment and vehicle use | 80 | 35.3 mi | |
| 1996 | Debris and open burning | 80 | 43.8 mi | |
| 2005 | Debris and open burning | 77 | 28.7 mi | |
| 2003 | Equipment and vehicle use | 70 | 33.1 mi | |
| 1994 | Debris and open burning | 60 | 38.0 mi | |
| 2017 | Power generation/transmission/distribution | 51 | 27.4 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 South Lyon. Useful comparison targets — same state, similar size, different fire profile.
1 departments report to NFIRS for incidents in South Lyon.
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.