In 2025, fire departments serving Watervliet responded to 69 fire and hazmat incidents — from cooking fires to gas leaks to a single $50K 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 68% of all calls.
Jun peaks. Feb dips. Watch for the typical fall climb starting in October.
267 incidents 2021–2025. Peak year was 2025. $278K cumulative property loss. 1 civilian deaths.
| Year | Incidents | YoY | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2021 | 49 | — | |
| 2022 | 54 | +10.2% | |
| 2023 | 46 | -14.8% | |
| 2024 | 49 | +6.5% | |
| 2025 | 69 | +40.8% |
For the 8 building fires Watervliet 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 | Outside area, other | 26 | 26.5% | |
| 2 | Undetermined | 17 | 17.3% | |
| 3 | Open area - outside; included are farmland, field | 7 | 7.1% | |
| 4 | Cooking area, kitchen | 5 | 5.1% | |
| 5 | Engine area, running gear, wheel area | 5 | 5.1% | |
| 6 | Storage area, other | 4 | 4.1% | |
| 7 | Vehicle area, other | 4 | 4.1% | |
| 8 | Exterior balcony, unenclosed porch | 3 | 3.1% | |
| 9 | Other | 2 | 2.0% | |
| 10 | Bathroom, checkroom, lavatory, locker room | 2 | 2.0% | |
| 11 | All other areas | 23 | 23.5% |
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 Watervliet mix.
| # | Heat source | Count | Share | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Undetermined | 53 | 54.1% | |
| 2 | Cigarette lighter | 9 | 9.2% | |
| 3 | Heat source: other | 8 | 8.2% | |
| 4 | Heat from powered equipment, other | 6 | 6.1% | |
| 5 | Hot or smoldering object, other | 5 | 5.1% | |
| 6 | Radiated, conducted heat from operating equipment | 4 | 4.1% | |
| 7 | Hot ember or ash | 3 | 3.1% | |
| 8 | Spark, ember or flame from operating equipment | 2 | 2.0% | |
| 9 | Arcing | 2 | 2.0% | |
| 10 | Heat from other open flame or smoking materials | 2 | 2.0% | |
| 11 | All other sources | 4 | 4.1% |
Largest single-incident property losses reported by Watervliet departments in 2025. These 4 fires alone account for 100% of the city's annual total.
| # | Property loss | Type | Severity | Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | $50,000 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
| 2 | $5,000 | Road freight or transport vehicle fire | Significant | Investigated |
| 3 | $5,000 | Passenger vehicle fire | Significant | Investigated |
| 4 | $3,500 | Passenger vehicle fire | Significant | Investigated |
Per-capita rates let us compare apples to apples. Watervliet sits above the national average for incidents per resident.
Top 25 wildfires (1992+) in the FPA-FOD ignitions database, scaled by acres. 813 acres burned in this 50-mile radius. Each dot is a fire — bigger dots burned more land.
| Year | Cause | Acres | Distance | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1993 | Smoking | 90 | 37.6 mi | |
| 1995 | Smoking | 71 | 33.1 mi | |
| 2011 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 66 | 27.6 mi | |
| 2019 | Debris and open burning | 50 | 26.5 mi | |
| 1996 | Arson/incendiarism | 42 | 29.4 mi | |
| 2003 | Smoking | 41 | 34.0 mi | |
| 2019 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 40 | 28.2 mi | |
| 1995 | Arson/incendiarism | 40 | 36.2 mi | |
| 2004 | Natural | 34 | 37.2 mi | |
| 2005 | Equipment and vehicle use | 33 | 36.3 mi | |
| 1995 | Smoking | 30 | 34.8 mi | |
| 2015 | Arson/incendiarism | 28 | 37.1 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 Watervliet. Useful comparison targets — same state, similar size, different fire profile.
1 departments report to NFIRS for incidents in Watervliet.
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.