In 2025, fire departments serving Three Rivers responded to 123 fire and hazmat incidents — from cooking fires to gas leaks to a single $80K 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 75% of all calls.
Mar peaks. Oct dips. Watch for the typical fall climb starting in October.
736 incidents 2021–2025. Peak year was 2024. $867K cumulative property loss. 1 civilian deaths.
| Year | Incidents | YoY | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2021 | 134 | — | |
| 2022 | 134 | +0.0% | |
| 2023 | 158 | +17.9% | |
| 2024 | 187 | +18.4% | |
| 2025 | 123 | -34.2% |
For the 14 building fires Three Rivers departments responded to in 2025, here's how they were classified once investigators were finished.
NFIRS Area of Origin (AREA_ORIG) for the 98 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 | 20 | 20.4% | |
| 2 | Engine area, running gear, wheel area | 10 | 10.2% | |
| 3 | Cooking area, kitchen | 8 | 8.2% | |
| 4 | Exterior balcony, unenclosed porch | 7 | 7.1% | |
| 5 | Outside area, other | 6 | 6.1% | |
| 6 | Common room, den, family room, living room, lounge | 5 | 5.1% | |
| 7 | Vehicle storage area; garage, carport | 5 | 5.1% | |
| 8 | Wall surface: exterior | 4 | 4.1% | |
| 9 | Entrance way, lobby | 2 | 2.0% | |
| 10 | Bedroom - < 5 persons; included are jail or prison | 2 | 2.0% | |
| 11 | All other areas | 29 | 29.6% |
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 Three Rivers mix.
| # | Heat source | Count | Share | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Undetermined | 55 | 56.1% | |
| 2 | Arcing | 15 | 15.3% | |
| 3 | Spark, ember or flame from operating equipment | 5 | 5.1% | |
| 4 | Radiated, conducted heat from operating equipment | 5 | 5.1% | |
| 5 | Heat source: other | 4 | 4.1% | |
| 6 | Cigarette | 4 | 4.1% | |
| 7 | Hot or smoldering object, other | 3 | 3.1% | |
| 8 | Heat from direct flame, convection currents | 2 | 2.0% | |
| 9 | Heat from powered equipment, other | 1 | 1.0% | |
| 10 | Hot ember or ash | 1 | 1.0% | |
| 11 | All other sources | 3 | 3.1% |
Largest single-incident property losses reported by Three Rivers departments in 2025. These 6 fires alone account for 100% of the city's annual total.
| # | Property loss | Type | Severity | Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | $80,200 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
| 2 | $4,500 | Passenger vehicle fire | Significant | Investigated |
| 3 | $2,500 | Passenger vehicle fire | Significant | Investigated |
| 4 | $2,000 | Passenger vehicle fire | Significant | Investigated |
| 5 | $100 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
| 6 | $10 | Trash or rubbish fire, contained | Significant | Investigated |
Per-capita rates let us compare apples to apples. Three Rivers sits above the national average for incidents per resident.
Top 25 wildfires (1992+) in the FPA-FOD ignitions database, scaled by acres. 974 acres burned in this 50-mile radius. Each dot is a fire — bigger dots burned more land.
| Year | Cause | Acres | Distance | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2014 | Debris and open burning | 154 | 31.4 mi | |
| 2018 | Natural | 105 | 41.4 mi | |
| 2011 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 66 | 42.9 mi | |
| 2013 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 52 | 37.7 mi | |
| 2019 | Debris and open burning | 50 | 49.9 mi | |
| 1996 | Arson/incendiarism | 42 | 47.3 mi | |
| 2003 | Smoking | 41 | 48.6 mi | |
| 2019 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 40 | 48.4 mi | |
| 2018 | Fireworks | 40 | 28.4 mi | |
| 2003 | Debris and open burning | 33 | 46.2 mi | |
| 1995 | Smoking | 30 | 49.6 mi | |
| 2019 | Equipment and vehicle use | 30 | 48.3 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 Three Rivers. Useful comparison targets — same state, similar size, different fire profile.
2 departments report to NFIRS for incidents in Three Rivers.
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.