Home› Michigan› Vicksburg
2025 Annual Fire Report

Fires in Vicksburg, Michigan

In 2025, fire departments serving Vicksburg responded to 33 fire and hazmat incidents — from cooking fires to gas leaks to a single $150K building blaze. Here's the full picture.

Updated Sep 27, 2026 Grade C+ Peak yr 2023 Kalamazoo County 3,757 residents 1 reporting departments 471 5-yr

Incomplete 2025 data. Vicksburg's departments reported 33 incidents to NFIRS for 2025, against about 94 in a typical year, so 2025 figures on this page undercount. The 2021–2025 totals are the better guide.

Total incidents
33
Not comparable with 2024 (incomplete reporting)
Building fires
6
Residential 67% Other 33%
Property loss
$250K
$150K structure · $100K contents
Deaths & injuries
0 / 0
0 civilian deaths · 0 civ injuries · 0 firefighter injuries
01 The mix

What kinds of fires happen here?

Power line down lead by count. Building fires lead by dollars. Together the top five categories make up about 67% of all calls.

33
Total Incidents
Power line down 7 21.2%
Building fires 6 18.2%
Brush, or brush and grass mixture fire 5 15.2%
Hazardous condition, other 2 6.1%
Gas leak (natural gas or LPG) 2 6.1%
All other categories 11 33.3%
02 Seasonality

When do fires happen?

Mar peaks. May dips. Watch for the typical fall climb starting in October.

Jan 5
Feb 2
Mar 18
Apr 3
May 0
Jun 2
Jul 0
Aug 2
Sep 0
Oct 0
Nov 1
Dec 0
Fewer
More
2b Five-year trend

Year over year in Vicksburg

471 incidents 2021–2025. Peak year was 2023. $2.2M cumulative property loss.

YearIncidentsYoY 
2021 105 —
2022 110 +4.8%
2023 118 +7.3%
2024 105 -11.0%
2025* 33 —

* Well below Vicksburg's usual volume. That almost always means one or more departments didn't submit a full year to NFIRS, not that fires dropped, so no year-over-year change is shown for it.

03 Cause of ignition

What sparks building fires?

For the 6 building fires Vicksburg departments responded to in 2025, here's how they were classified once investigators were finished.

Unintentional
100%
4
Cause undetermined
0%
0
Intentional / arson
0%
0
Equipment / heat source failure
0%
0
Under investigation
0%
0
Act of nature (lightning)
0%
0
3b Where fires start

Where do fires start in Vicksburg?

NFIRS Area of Origin (AREA_ORIG) for the 69 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 originCountShare 
1 Undetermined 22 31.9%
2 Engine area, running gear, wheel area 7 10.1%
3 Open area - outside; included are farmland, field 4 5.8%
4 Common room, den, family room, living room, lounge 3 4.3%
5 Cooking area, kitchen 3 4.3%
6 Exterior balcony, unenclosed porch 3 4.3%
7 Other 2 2.9%
8 Storage room, area, tank, or bin 2 2.9%
9 Vehicle storage area; garage, carport 2 2.9%
10 Duct: hvac, cable, exhaust, heating, or AC 2 2.9%
11 All other areas 19 27.5%
3c What ignited it

What actually ignited the fire?

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 Vicksburg mix.

#Heat sourceCountShare 
1 Undetermined 34 49.3%
2 Spark, ember or flame from operating equipment 4 5.8%
3 Arcing 4 5.8%
4 Radiated, conducted heat from operating equipment 3 4.3%
5 Hot or smoldering object, other 3 4.3%
6 Lightning 3 4.3%
7 Heat from direct flame, convection currents 3 4.3%
8 Heat source: other 2 2.9%
9 Heat from powered equipment, other 2 2.9%
10 Flame/torch used for lighting 2 2.9%
11 All other sources 9 13.0%
04 The biggest fires

1 fires · $150K in losses

Largest single-incident property losses reported by Vicksburg departments in 2025. These 1 fires alone account for 100% of the city's annual total.

# Property loss Type Severity Status
1 $150,000 Building fires Significant Investigated
05 How Vicksburg compares

Vicksburg vs Michigan vs the nation

Per-capita rates let us compare apples to apples. Vicksburg sits above the national average for incidents per resident.

8.78
Incidents per 1,000 residents
Vicksburg
8.78
MI avg
14.02
US avg
7.48
1.6
Building fires per 1,000 residents
Vicksburg
1.6
MI avg
2.08
US avg
0.85
0
Civilian fire deaths per million
Vicksburg
0
MI avg
13.3
US avg
5.9
5c Wildfires nearby

Wildfires within 50 mi of Vicksburg

Top 25 wildfires (1992+) in the FPA-FOD ignitions database, scaled by acres. 1,376 acres burned in this 50-mile radius. Each dot is a fire — bigger dots burned more land.

50 mi radius
YearCauseAcresDistance 
2014 Debris and open burning 154 32.6 mi
1996 Equipment and vehicle use 119 40.5 mi
2018 Natural 105 31.0 mi
1993 Smoking 90 41.4 mi
1995 Smoking 71 42.6 mi
2011 Missing data/not specified/undetermined 66 34.8 mi
2015 Debris and open burning 57 46.2 mi
2013 Missing data/not specified/undetermined 52 25.1 mi
1996 Equipment and vehicle use 51 40.5 mi
2019 Debris and open burning 50 43.2 mi
1994 Debris and open burning 50 44.2 mi
2005 Debris and open burning 43 43.7 mi
5d Top ZIPs

Where in Vicksburg do fires concentrate?

Top 1 ZIP codes by NFIRS incident count across 2021–2025. Each ZIP has its own fire profile — dive in for neighborhood-level context.

#ZIP5-yr incidents 
1 49097 471
5e Peer cities

Cities similar to Vicksburg

Six Michigan cities with population within ±25% of Vicksburg. Useful comparison targets — same state, similar size, different fire profile.

06 First responders

Who responds in Vicksburg?

1 departments report to NFIRS for incidents in Vicksburg.

South Kalamozoo Co Fire Auth
125 S MAIN ST
FDID 03919
07 Stay prepared

Before the next Red Flag day.

A 30-minute weekend can cut your home's exposure substantially. These four checklists are a good starting point.

About this data

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.