In 2025, fire departments serving Whitmore Lake responded to 110 fire and hazmat incidents — from cooking fires to gas leaks to a single $400K 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 51% of all calls.
Jun peaks. Dec dips. Watch for the typical fall climb starting in October.
613 incidents 2021–2025. Peak year was 2023. $3.2M cumulative property loss. 4 civilian deaths.
| Year | Incidents | YoY | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2021 | 136 | — | |
| 2022 | 130 | -4.4% | |
| 2023 | 152 | +16.9% | |
| 2024 | 85 | -44.1% | |
| 2025 | 110 | +29.4% |
For the 12 building fires Whitmore Lake departments responded to in 2025, here's how they were classified once investigators were finished.
NFIRS Area of Origin (AREA_ORIG) for the 84 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 | 11 | 13.1% | |
| 2 | Undetermined | 10 | 11.9% | |
| 3 | Engine area, running gear, wheel area | 9 | 10.7% | |
| 4 | Cooking area, kitchen | 7 | 8.3% | |
| 5 | Other | 5 | 6.0% | |
| 6 | Vehicle storage area; garage, carport | 5 | 6.0% | |
| 7 | Vehicle area, other | 5 | 6.0% | |
| 8 | Open area - outside; included are farmland, field | 5 | 6.0% | |
| 9 | Cargo/trunk area - all vehicles | 4 | 4.8% | |
| 10 | Wall surface: exterior | 3 | 3.6% | |
| 11 | All other areas | 20 | 23.8% |
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 Whitmore Lake mix.
| # | Heat source | Count | Share | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Undetermined | 38 | 45.2% | |
| 2 | Heat source: other | 4 | 4.8% | |
| 3 | Hot ember or ash | 4 | 4.8% | |
| 4 | Heat spread from another fire, other | 4 | 4.8% | |
| 5 | Heat from powered equipment, other | 3 | 3.6% | |
| 6 | Spark, ember or flame from operating equipment | 3 | 3.6% | |
| 7 | Radiated, conducted heat from operating equipment | 3 | 3.6% | |
| 8 | Arcing | 3 | 3.6% | |
| 9 | Heat from other open flame or smoking materials | 3 | 3.6% | |
| 10 | Cigarette | 3 | 3.6% | |
| 11 | All other sources | 16 | 19.0% |
Largest single-incident property losses reported by Whitmore Lake departments in 2025. These 8 fires alone account for 100% of the city's annual total.
| # | Property loss | Type | Severity | Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | $400,000 | Building fires | Major | Investigated |
| 2 | $400,000 | Fire, other | Major | Investigated |
| 3 | $50,000 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
| 4 | $33,000 | Passenger vehicle fire | Significant | Investigated |
| 5 | $10,000 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
| 6 | $8,000 | Passenger vehicle fire | Significant | Investigated |
| 7 | $2,500 | Passenger vehicle fire | Significant | Investigated |
| 8 | $2,000 | Natural vegetation fire, other | Significant | Investigated |
Per-capita rates let us compare apples to apples. Whitmore Lake sits above the national average for incidents per resident.
10 fire-related casualties recorded in NFIRS Module 11 across the 2021–2025 window. Age, gender, and severity are coarse-binned — no individual identification possible.
| Age | Count | |
|---|---|---|
| 0-9 | 0 | |
| 10-19 | 0 | |
| 20-29 | 2 | |
| 30-39 | 2 | |
| 40-49 | 0 | |
| 50-59 | 0 | |
| 60-69 | 0 | |
| 70-79 | 0 | |
| 80+ | 0 |
Top 25 wildfires (1992+) in the FPA-FOD ignitions database, scaled by acres. 1,856 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 | 39.4 mi | |
| 2020 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 143 | 25.0 mi | |
| 1996 | Arson/incendiarism | 142 | 28.0 mi | |
| 2018 | Equipment and vehicle use | 100 | 14.7 mi | |
| 1996 | Debris and open burning | 98 | 23.0 mi | |
| 1996 | Arson/incendiarism | 96 | 26.0 mi | |
| 2019 | Equipment and vehicle use | 80 | 34.3 mi | |
| 1996 | Debris and open burning | 80 | 41.5 mi | |
| 2005 | Debris and open burning | 77 | 27.4 mi | |
| 2003 | Equipment and vehicle use | 70 | 29.8 mi | |
| 2010 | Arson/incendiarism | 69 | 49.2 mi | |
| 1994 | Debris and open burning | 60 | 36.0 mi |
Top 4 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 Whitmore Lake. Useful comparison targets — same state, similar size, different fire profile.
1 departments report to NFIRS for incidents in Whitmore 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.