In 2025, fire departments serving Wayne responded to 165 fire and hazmat incidents — from cooking fires to gas leaks to a single $250K 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 63% of all calls.
Jul peaks. Dec dips. Watch for the typical fall climb starting in October.
1,103 incidents 2021–2025. Peak year was 2023. $5.0M cumulative property loss.
| Year | Incidents | YoY | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2021 | 222 | — | |
| 2022 | 200 | -9.9% | |
| 2023 | 317 | +58.5% | |
| 2024 | 199 | -37.2% | |
| 2025 | 165 | -17.1% |
For the 16 building fires Wayne departments responded to in 2025, here's how they were classified once investigators were finished.
NFIRS Area of Origin (AREA_ORIG) for the 107 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 | 24 | 22.4% | |
| 2 | Bedroom - < 5 persons; included are jail or prison | 8 | 7.5% | |
| 3 | Cooking area, kitchen | 8 | 7.5% | |
| 4 | Vehicle storage area; garage, carport | 8 | 7.5% | |
| 5 | Vehicle area, other | 7 | 6.5% | |
| 6 | Attic: vacant, crawl space above top story, cupola | 6 | 5.6% | |
| 7 | Operator/passenger area of transportation equip. | 6 | 5.6% | |
| 8 | Undetermined | 6 | 5.6% | |
| 9 | Common room, den, family room, living room, lounge | 3 | 2.8% | |
| 10 | Heating room or area, water heater area | 3 | 2.8% | |
| 11 | All other areas | 28 | 26.2% |
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 Wayne mix.
| # | Heat source | Count | Share | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Undetermined | 27 | 25.2% | |
| 2 | Arcing | 22 | 20.6% | |
| 3 | Heat from powered equipment, other | 11 | 10.3% | |
| 4 | Heat source: other | 9 | 8.4% | |
| 5 | Heat from direct flame, convection currents | 7 | 6.5% | |
| 6 | Hot or smoldering object, other | 5 | 4.7% | |
| 7 | Spark, ember or flame from operating equipment | 4 | 3.7% | |
| 8 | Radiated, conducted heat from operating equipment | 4 | 3.7% | |
| 9 | Cigarette lighter | 4 | 3.7% | |
| 10 | Cigarette | 3 | 2.8% | |
| 11 | All other sources | 11 | 10.3% |
Largest single-incident property losses reported by Wayne departments in 2025. These 8 fires alone account for 95% of the city's annual total.
| # | Property loss | Type | Severity | Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | $250,000 | Fire, other | Major | Investigated |
| 2 | $100,000 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
| 3 | $100,000 | Off-road vehicle or heavy equipment fire | Significant | Investigated |
| 4 | $50,000 | Off-road vehicle or heavy equipment fire | Significant | Investigated |
| 5 | $50,000 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
| 6 | $50,000 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
| 7 | $25,000 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
| 8 | $20,000 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
Per-capita rates let us compare apples to apples. Wayne sits above the national average for incidents per resident.
Top 25 wildfires (1992+) in the FPA-FOD ignitions database, scaled by acres. 1,673 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 | 20.2 mi | |
| 2020 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 143 | 45.7 mi | |
| 1996 | Arson/incendiarism | 142 | 48.9 mi | |
| 2018 | Equipment and vehicle use | 100 | 35.4 mi | |
| 1996 | Debris and open burning | 98 | 35.1 mi | |
| 1996 | Arson/incendiarism | 96 | 43.6 mi | |
| 2019 | Equipment and vehicle use | 80 | 23.0 mi | |
| 2005 | Debris and open burning | 77 | 19.0 mi | |
| 2010 | Arson/incendiarism | 69 | 37.1 mi | |
| 2017 | Power generation/transmission/distribution | 51 | 45.9 mi | |
| 2015 | Equipment and vehicle use | 50 | 38.0 mi | |
| 2020 | Debris and open burning | 50 | 28.6 mi |
Top 6 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 Wayne. Useful comparison targets — same state, similar size, different fire profile.
1 departments report to NFIRS for incidents in Wayne.
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.