In 2025, fire departments serving Vassar responded to 47 fire and hazmat incidents — from cooking fires to gas leaks to a single $200K 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 79% of all calls.
Mar peaks. Nov dips. Watch for the typical fall climb starting in October.
250 incidents 2021–2025. Peak year was 2024. $626K cumulative property loss.
| Year | Incidents | YoY | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2021 | 40 | — | |
| 2022 | 48 | +20.0% | |
| 2023 | 50 | +4.2% | |
| 2024 | 65 | +30.0% | |
| 2025 | 47 | -27.7% |
For the 9 building fires Vassar departments responded to in 2025, here's how they were classified once investigators were finished.
NFIRS Area of Origin (AREA_ORIG) for the 37 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 | 9 | 24.3% | |
| 2 | Outside area, other | 4 | 10.8% | |
| 3 | Wall surface: exterior | 3 | 8.1% | |
| 4 | Engine area, running gear, wheel area | 3 | 8.1% | |
| 5 | Open area - outside; included are farmland, field | 3 | 8.1% | |
| 6 | Other | 2 | 5.4% | |
| 7 | Cooking area, kitchen | 2 | 5.4% | |
| 8 | Laundry area, wash house (laundry) | 2 | 5.4% | |
| 9 | Exterior balcony, unenclosed porch | 2 | 5.4% | |
| 10 | Corridor, mall | 1 | 2.7% | |
| 11 | All other areas | 6 | 16.2% |
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 Vassar mix.
| # | Heat source | Count | Share | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Undetermined | 22 | 59.5% | |
| 2 | Heat source: other | 5 | 13.5% | |
| 3 | Arcing | 5 | 13.5% | |
| 4 | Hot or smoldering object, other | 2 | 5.4% | |
| 5 | Radiated, conducted heat from operating equipment | 1 | 2.7% | |
| 6 | Heat spread from another fire, other | 1 | 2.7% | |
| 7 | Multiple heat sources including multiple ignitions | 1 | 2.7% |
Largest single-incident property losses reported by Vassar departments in 2025. These 2 fires alone account for 100% of the city's annual total.
| # | Property loss | Type | Severity | Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | $200,000 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
| 2 | $60,000 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
Per-capita rates let us compare apples to apples. Vassar sits above the national average for incidents per resident.
Top 25 wildfires (1992+) in the FPA-FOD ignitions database, scaled by acres. 2,022 acres burned in this 50-mile radius. Each dot is a fire — bigger dots burned more land.
| Year | Cause | Acres | Distance | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2012 | Arson/incendiarism | 335 | 15.7 mi | |
| 2012 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 257 | 34.2 mi | |
| 2004 | Natural | 186 | 45.9 mi | |
| 2003 | Recreation and ceremony | 155 | 49.2 mi | |
| 2003 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 116 | 40.6 mi | |
| 2010 | Debris and open burning | 70 | 24.5 mi | |
| 2004 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 67 | 17.5 mi | |
| 2005 | Equipment and vehicle use | 66 | 49.2 mi | |
| 1994 | Smoking | 65 | 49.4 mi | |
| 2012 | Smoking | 64 | 25.5 mi | |
| 2009 | Debris and open burning | 63 | 15.9 mi | |
| 2006 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 61 | 19.7 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 Vassar. Useful comparison targets — same state, similar size, different fire profile.
1 departments report to NFIRS for incidents in Vassar.
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.