In 2025, fire departments serving Walker responded to 193 fire and hazmat incidents — from cooking fires to gas leaks to a single $150K 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 50% of all calls.
May peaks. Dec dips. Watch for the typical fall climb starting in October.
1,044 incidents 2021–2025. Peak year was 2023. $5.6M cumulative property loss.
| Year | Incidents | YoY | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2021 | 195 | — | |
| 2022 | 178 | -8.7% | |
| 2023 | 242 | +36.0% | |
| 2024 | 236 | -2.5% | |
| 2025 | 193 | -18.2% |
For the 13 building fires Walker departments responded to in 2025, here's how they were classified once investigators were finished.
NFIRS Area of Origin (AREA_ORIG) for the 276 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 | Engine area, running gear, wheel area | 74 | 26.8% | |
| 2 | Outside area, other | 35 | 12.7% | |
| 3 | Cooking area, kitchen | 24 | 8.7% | |
| 4 | Open area - outside; included are farmland, field | 18 | 6.5% | |
| 5 | Undetermined | 18 | 6.5% | |
| 6 | Vehicle storage area; garage, carport | 10 | 3.6% | |
| 7 | Highway, parking lot, street: on or near | 10 | 3.6% | |
| 8 | Vehicle area, other | 7 | 2.5% | |
| 9 | Bathroom, checkroom, lavatory, locker room | 6 | 2.2% | |
| 10 | Wall assembly | 6 | 2.2% | |
| 11 | All other areas | 68 | 24.6% |
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 Walker mix.
| # | Heat source | Count | Share | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Undetermined | 155 | 56.2% | |
| 2 | Radiated, conducted heat from operating equipment | 37 | 13.4% | |
| 3 | Arcing | 18 | 6.5% | |
| 4 | Spark, ember or flame from operating equipment | 9 | 3.3% | |
| 5 | Heat from powered equipment, other | 6 | 2.2% | |
| 6 | Hot ember or ash | 6 | 2.2% | |
| 7 | Cigarette | 6 | 2.2% | |
| 8 | Heat, spark from friction | 5 | 1.8% | |
| 9 | Heat source: other | 4 | 1.4% | |
| 10 | Hot or smoldering object, other | 4 | 1.4% | |
| 11 | All other sources | 26 | 9.4% |
Largest single-incident property losses reported by Walker departments in 2025. These 8 fires alone account for 91% of the city's annual total.
| # | Property loss | Type | Severity | Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | $150,000 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
| 2 | $35,000 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
| 3 | $25,000 | Fire, other | Significant | Investigated |
| 4 | $20,000 | Passenger vehicle fire | Significant | Investigated |
| 5 | $20,000 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
| 6 | $9,710 | Passenger vehicle fire | Significant | Investigated |
| 7 | $8,200 | Passenger vehicle fire | Significant | Investigated |
| 8 | $5,000 | Passenger vehicle fire | Significant | Investigated |
Per-capita rates let us compare apples to apples. Walker sits above the national average for incidents per resident.
Top 25 wildfires (1992+) in the FPA-FOD ignitions database, scaled by acres. 2,634 acres burned in this 50-mile radius. Each dot is a fire — bigger dots burned more land.
| Year | Cause | Acres | Distance | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2003 | Arson/incendiarism | 275 | 30.9 mi | |
| 2003 | Debris and open burning | 191 | 40.9 mi | |
| 2010 | Power generation/transmission/distribution | 175 | 29.6 mi | |
| 2003 | Debris and open burning | 162 | 28.9 mi | |
| 1994 | Arson/incendiarism | 151 | 38.7 mi | |
| 1994 | Arson/incendiarism | 150 | 23.3 mi | |
| 1996 | Equipment and vehicle use | 119 | 33.9 mi | |
| 1994 | Recreation and ceremony | 107 | 28.7 mi | |
| 2003 | Arson/incendiarism | 106 | 41.0 mi | |
| 2018 | Arson/incendiarism | 105 | 28.4 mi | |
| 2018 | Arson/incendiarism | 105 | 28.4 mi | |
| 1994 | Debris and open burning | 100 | 33.8 mi |
Top 8 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 Walker. Useful comparison targets — same state, similar size, different fire profile.
1 departments report to NFIRS for incidents in Walker.
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.