In 2025, fire departments serving Suttons Bay responded to 40 fire and hazmat incidents — from cooking fires to gas leaks to a single $300K 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 78% of all calls.
Mar peaks. Jun dips. Watch for the typical fall climb starting in October.
240 incidents 2021–2025. Peak year was 2022. $4.7M cumulative property loss.
| Year | Incidents | YoY | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2021 | 58 | — | |
| 2022 | 64 | +10.3% | |
| 2023 | 45 | -29.7% | |
| 2024 | 33 | -26.7% | |
| 2025 | 40 | +21.2% |
For the 10 building fires Suttons Bay departments responded to in 2025, here's how they were classified once investigators were finished.
NFIRS Area of Origin (AREA_ORIG) for the 26 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 | 4 | 15.4% | |
| 2 | Structural area, other | 3 | 11.5% | |
| 3 | Outside area, other | 3 | 11.5% | |
| 4 | Open area - outside; included are farmland, field | 3 | 11.5% | |
| 5 | Other | 2 | 7.7% | |
| 6 | Storage area, other | 2 | 7.7% | |
| 7 | Construction/renovation area | 2 | 7.7% | |
| 8 | Cooking area, kitchen | 1 | 3.8% | |
| 9 | Service facilities, other | 1 | 3.8% | |
| 10 | Equipment or service area, other | 1 | 3.8% | |
| 11 | All other areas | 4 | 15.4% |
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 Suttons Bay mix.
| # | Heat source | Count | Share | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Undetermined | 6 | 23.1% | |
| 2 | Spark, ember or flame from operating equipment | 4 | 15.4% | |
| 3 | Hot ember or ash | 4 | 15.4% | |
| 4 | Heat from powered equipment, other | 2 | 7.7% | |
| 5 | Hot or smoldering object, other | 2 | 7.7% | |
| 6 | Flying brand, ember, spark | 2 | 7.7% | |
| 7 | Radiated, conducted heat from operating equipment | 1 | 3.8% | |
| 8 | Arcing | 1 | 3.8% | |
| 9 | Match | 1 | 3.8% | |
| 10 | Warning or road flare; fusee | 1 | 3.8% | |
| 11 | All other sources | 2 | 7.7% |
Largest single-incident property losses reported by Suttons Bay departments in 2025. These 2 fires alone account for 100% of the city's annual total.
| # | Property loss | Type | Severity | Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | $300,000 | Building fires | Major | Investigated |
| 2 | $20,000 | Passenger vehicle fire | Significant | Investigated |
Per-capita rates let us compare apples to apples. Suttons Bay sits above the national average for incidents per resident.
Top 25 wildfires (1992+) in the FPA-FOD ignitions database, scaled by acres. 3,630 acres burned in this 50-mile radius. Each dot is a fire — bigger dots burned more land.
| Year | Cause | Acres | Distance | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2010 | Debris and open burning | 1,040 | 45.5 mi | |
| 2011 | Power generation/transmission/distribution | 817 | 45.0 mi | |
| 1995 | Arson/incendiarism | 200 | 48.8 mi | |
| 1994 | Debris and open burning | 148 | 21.2 mi | |
| 2019 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 140 | 28.9 mi | |
| 2003 | Debris and open burning | 115 | 25.0 mi | |
| 1994 | Arson/incendiarism | 105 | 24.5 mi | |
| 2012 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 96 | 45.9 mi | |
| 2003 | Debris and open burning | 89 | 29.2 mi | |
| 2003 | Debris and open burning | 83 | 25.6 mi | |
| 2018 | Arson/incendiarism | 79 | 47.3 mi | |
| 2018 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 72 | 39.2 mi |
Top 1 ZIP codes by NFIRS incident count across 2021–2025. Each ZIP has its own fire profile — dive in for neighborhood-level context.
| # | ZIP | 5-yr incidents | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 49682 | 240 |
Six Michigan cities with population within ±25% of Suttons Bay. Useful comparison targets — same state, similar size, different fire profile.
1 departments report to NFIRS for incidents in Suttons Bay.
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.