In 2025, fire departments serving Walled Lake responded to 52 fire and hazmat incidents — from cooking fires to gas leaks to a single $5K building blaze. Here's the full picture.
Unauthorized burning lead by count. Building fires lead by dollars. Together the top five categories make up about 65% of all calls.
Jun peaks. Feb dips. Watch for the typical fall climb starting in October.
370 incidents 2021–2025. Peak year was 2021. $568K cumulative property loss.
| Year | Incidents | YoY | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2021 | 145 | — | |
| 2022 | 58 | -60.0% | |
| 2023 | 62 | +6.9% | |
| 2024 | 53 | -14.5% | |
| 2025 | 52 | -1.9% |
For the 3 building fires Walled Lake departments responded to in 2025, here's how they were classified once investigators were finished.
NFIRS Area of Origin (AREA_ORIG) for the 45 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 | 10 | 22.2% | |
| 2 | Outside area, other | 8 | 17.8% | |
| 3 | Other | 4 | 8.9% | |
| 4 | Cooking area, kitchen | 3 | 6.7% | |
| 5 | Chute/container - trash, rubbish, waste | 3 | 6.7% | |
| 6 | Cargo/trunk area - all vehicles | 3 | 6.7% | |
| 7 | Engine area, running gear, wheel area | 3 | 6.7% | |
| 8 | Exterior balcony, unenclosed porch | 2 | 4.4% | |
| 9 | Wildland, woods | 2 | 4.4% | |
| 10 | Common room, den, family room, living room, lounge | 1 | 2.2% | |
| 11 | All other areas | 6 | 13.3% |
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 Walled Lake mix.
| # | Heat source | Count | Share | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Undetermined | 26 | 57.8% | |
| 2 | Heat from powered equipment, other | 5 | 11.1% | |
| 3 | Arcing | 4 | 8.9% | |
| 4 | Spark, ember or flame from operating equipment | 2 | 4.4% | |
| 5 | Hot or smoldering object, other | 2 | 4.4% | |
| 6 | Radiated, conducted heat from operating equipment | 1 | 2.2% | |
| 7 | Molten, hot material | 1 | 2.2% | |
| 8 | Cigarette | 1 | 2.2% | |
| 9 | Flame/torch used for lighting | 1 | 2.2% | |
| 10 | Heat from direct flame, convection currents | 1 | 2.2% | |
| 11 | All other sources | 1 | 2.2% |
Largest single-incident property losses reported by Walled Lake departments in 2025. These 3 fires alone account for 100% of the city's annual total.
| # | Property loss | Type | Severity | Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | $5,000 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
| 2 | $5,000 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
| 3 | $300 | Cooking fire, confined to container | Significant | Investigated |
Per-capita rates let us compare apples to apples. Walled Lake sits below the national average for incidents per resident.
Top 25 wildfires (1992+) in the FPA-FOD ignitions database, scaled by acres. 1,841 acres burned in this 50-mile radius. Each dot is a fire — bigger dots burned more land.
| Year | Cause | Acres | Distance | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2019 | Debris and open burning | 300 | 38.7 mi | |
| 2020 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 143 | 32.9 mi | |
| 1996 | Arson/incendiarism | 142 | 41.2 mi | |
| 2018 | Equipment and vehicle use | 100 | 23.8 mi | |
| 1996 | Debris and open burning | 98 | 38.6 mi | |
| 1996 | Arson/incendiarism | 96 | 41.8 mi | |
| 2019 | Equipment and vehicle use | 80 | 40.0 mi | |
| 1996 | Debris and open burning | 80 | 48.7 mi | |
| 2005 | Debris and open burning | 77 | 34.3 mi | |
| 2003 | Equipment and vehicle use | 70 | 39.8 mi | |
| 2012 | Smoking | 64 | 42.5 mi | |
| 1994 | Debris and open burning | 60 | 42.5 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 Walled Lake. Useful comparison targets — same state, similar size, different fire profile.
1 departments report to NFIRS for incidents in Walled Lake.
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.