In 2025, fire departments serving Southgate responded to 148 fire and hazmat incidents — from cooking fires to gas leaks to a single $10.0M building blaze. Here's the full picture.
Building fires lead by count. Building fires lead by dollars. Together the top five categories make up about 57% of all calls.
Oct peaks. Nov dips. Watch for the typical fall climb starting in October.
762 incidents 2021–2025. Peak year was 2023. $37.4M cumulative property loss. 1 civilian deaths.
| Year | Incidents | YoY | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2021 | 95 | — | |
| 2022 | 114 | +20.0% | |
| 2023 | 266 | +133.3% | |
| 2024 | 139 | -47.7% | |
| 2025 | 148 | +6.5% |
For the 27 building fires Southgate departments responded to in 2025, here's how they were classified once investigators were finished.
NFIRS Area of Origin (AREA_ORIG) for the 139 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 | 25 | 18.0% | |
| 2 | Outside area, other | 15 | 10.8% | |
| 3 | Cooking area, kitchen | 14 | 10.1% | |
| 4 | Engine area, running gear, wheel area | 11 | 7.9% | |
| 5 | Open area - outside; included are farmland, field | 8 | 5.8% | |
| 6 | Other | 7 | 5.0% | |
| 7 | Structural area, other | 5 | 3.6% | |
| 8 | Function area, other | 4 | 2.9% | |
| 9 | Vehicle storage area; garage, carport | 4 | 2.9% | |
| 10 | Exterior balcony, unenclosed porch | 4 | 2.9% | |
| 11 | All other areas | 42 | 30.2% |
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 Southgate mix.
| # | Heat source | Count | Share | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Undetermined | 80 | 57.6% | |
| 2 | Heat from powered equipment, other | 12 | 8.6% | |
| 3 | Heat from other open flame or smoking materials | 8 | 5.8% | |
| 4 | Hot or smoldering object, other | 7 | 5.0% | |
| 5 | Hot ember or ash | 7 | 5.0% | |
| 6 | Spark, ember or flame from operating equipment | 5 | 3.6% | |
| 7 | Arcing | 5 | 3.6% | |
| 8 | Radiated, conducted heat from operating equipment | 2 | 1.4% | |
| 9 | Fireworks | 2 | 1.4% | |
| 10 | Cigarette lighter | 2 | 1.4% | |
| 11 | All other sources | 9 | 6.5% |
Largest single-incident property losses reported by Southgate departments in 2025. These 8 fires alone account for 100% of the city's annual total.
| # | Property loss | Type | Severity | Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | $10,000,000 | Building fires | Catastrophic | Investigated |
| 2 | $5,000,000 | Building fires | Catastrophic | Investigated |
| 3 | $287,591 | Building fires | Major | Investigated |
| 4 | $200,000 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
| 5 | $95,000 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
| 6 | $65,000 | Passenger vehicle fire | Significant | Investigated |
| 7 | $40,000 | Passenger vehicle fire | Significant | Investigated |
| 8 | $25,000 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
Per-capita rates let us compare apples to apples. Southgate sits below the national average for incidents per resident.
Top 25 wildfires (1992+) in the FPA-FOD ignitions database, scaled by acres. 1,211 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 | 13.5 mi | |
| 2018 | Equipment and vehicle use | 100 | 45.9 mi | |
| 1996 | Debris and open burning | 98 | 43.9 mi | |
| 2019 | Equipment and vehicle use | 80 | 23.4 mi | |
| 2005 | Debris and open burning | 77 | 22.5 mi | |
| 2010 | Arson/incendiarism | 69 | 34.7 mi | |
| 2015 | Equipment and vehicle use | 50 | 48.6 mi | |
| 2020 | Debris and open burning | 50 | 38.0 mi | |
| 2019 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 49 | 30.9 mi | |
| 2010 | Arson/incendiarism | 42 | 11.2 mi | |
| 1994 | Recreation and ceremony | 38 | 33.6 mi | |
| 1996 | Misuse of fire by a minor | 30 | 32.1 mi |
Top 4 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 Southgate. Useful comparison targets — same state, similar size, different fire profile.
1 departments report to NFIRS for incidents in Southgate.
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.