In 2025, fire departments serving Wayland responded to 181 fire and hazmat incidents — from cooking fires to gas leaks to a single $450K 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 72% of all calls.
May peaks. Jan dips. Watch for the typical fall climb starting in October.
726 incidents 2021–2025. Peak year was 2025. $3.9M cumulative property loss. 1 civilian deaths.
| Year | Incidents | YoY | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2021 | 134 | — | |
| 2022 | 110 | -17.9% | |
| 2023 | 139 | +26.4% | |
| 2024 | 162 | +16.5% | |
| 2025 | 181 | +11.7% |
For the 20 building fires Wayland departments responded to in 2025, here's how they were classified once investigators were finished.
NFIRS Area of Origin (AREA_ORIG) for the 165 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 | 35 | 21.2% | |
| 2 | Engine area, running gear, wheel area | 29 | 17.6% | |
| 3 | Outside area, other | 20 | 12.1% | |
| 4 | Cooking area, kitchen | 13 | 7.9% | |
| 5 | Open area - outside; included are farmland, field | 9 | 5.5% | |
| 6 | Vehicle storage area; garage, carport | 5 | 3.0% | |
| 7 | Common room, den, family room, living room, lounge | 4 | 2.4% | |
| 8 | Bedroom - < 5 persons; included are jail or prison | 4 | 2.4% | |
| 9 | Vehicle area, other | 4 | 2.4% | |
| 10 | Railroad right of way: on or near | 4 | 2.4% | |
| 11 | All other areas | 38 | 23.0% |
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 Wayland mix.
| # | Heat source | Count | Share | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Undetermined | 62 | 37.6% | |
| 2 | Radiated, conducted heat from operating equipment | 19 | 11.5% | |
| 3 | Heat from powered equipment, other | 17 | 10.3% | |
| 4 | Arcing | 12 | 7.3% | |
| 5 | Hot ember or ash | 12 | 7.3% | |
| 6 | Spark, ember or flame from operating equipment | 9 | 5.5% | |
| 7 | Heat source: other | 8 | 4.8% | |
| 8 | Hot or smoldering object, other | 5 | 3.0% | |
| 9 | Heat spread from another fire, other | 4 | 2.4% | |
| 10 | Flame/torch used for lighting | 3 | 1.8% | |
| 11 | All other sources | 14 | 8.5% |
Largest single-incident property losses reported by Wayland departments in 2025. These 8 fires alone account for 100% of the city's annual total.
| # | Property loss | Type | Severity | Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | $450,000 | Building fires | Major | Investigated |
| 2 | $300,000 | Building fires | Major | Investigated |
| 3 | $250,000 | Building fires | Major | Investigated |
| 4 | $150,000 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
| 5 | $80,000 | Road freight or transport vehicle fire | Significant | Investigated |
| 6 | $50,000 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
| 7 | $10,000 | Fire in portable building, fixed location | Significant | Investigated |
| 8 | $10,000 | Off-road vehicle or heavy equipment fire | Significant | Investigated |
Per-capita rates let us compare apples to apples. Wayland sits above the national average for incidents per resident.
Top 25 wildfires (1992+) in the FPA-FOD ignitions database, scaled by acres. 1,731 acres burned in this 50-mile radius. Each dot is a fire — bigger dots burned more land.
| Year | Cause | Acres | Distance | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2003 | Debris and open burning | 191 | 46.1 mi | |
| 2010 | Power generation/transmission/distribution | 175 | 49.4 mi | |
| 1994 | Arson/incendiarism | 150 | 33.0 mi | |
| 1996 | Equipment and vehicle use | 119 | 20.3 mi | |
| 2018 | Natural | 105 | 39.7 mi | |
| 1993 | Smoking | 90 | 12.6 mi | |
| 1995 | Smoking | 71 | 18.8 mi | |
| 2011 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 66 | 19.2 mi | |
| 1994 | Misuse of fire by a minor | 60 | 40.7 mi | |
| 2015 | Debris and open burning | 57 | 25.1 mi | |
| 2013 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 52 | 23.3 mi | |
| 1996 | Equipment and vehicle use | 51 | 20.3 mi |
Top 10 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 Wayland. Useful comparison targets — same state, similar size, different fire profile.
2 departments report to NFIRS for incidents in Wayland.
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.