In 2025, fire departments serving Williamston responded to 97 fire and hazmat incidents — from cooking fires to gas leaks to a single $51K 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 82% of all calls.
Mar peaks. Dec dips. Watch for the typical fall climb starting in October.
499 incidents 2021–2025. Peak year was 2021. $2.0M cumulative property loss. 1 civilian deaths.
| Year | Incidents | YoY | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2021 | 115 | — | |
| 2022 | 107 | -7.0% | |
| 2023 | 97 | -9.3% | |
| 2024 | 83 | -14.4% | |
| 2025 | 97 | +16.9% |
For the 7 building fires Williamston departments responded to in 2025, here's how they were classified once investigators were finished.
NFIRS Area of Origin (AREA_ORIG) for the 72 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 | 18 | 25.0% | |
| 2 | Open area - outside; included are farmland, field | 7 | 9.7% | |
| 3 | Cooking area, kitchen | 6 | 8.3% | |
| 4 | Undetermined | 6 | 8.3% | |
| 5 | Storage area, other | 5 | 6.9% | |
| 6 | Structural area, other | 4 | 5.6% | |
| 7 | Attic: vacant, crawl space above top story, cupola | 3 | 4.2% | |
| 8 | Outside area, other | 3 | 4.2% | |
| 9 | Highway, parking lot, street: on or near | 3 | 4.2% | |
| 10 | Common room, den, family room, living room, lounge | 2 | 2.8% | |
| 11 | All other areas | 15 | 20.8% |
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 Williamston mix.
| # | Heat source | Count | Share | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Undetermined | 18 | 25.0% | |
| 2 | Heat from powered equipment, other | 10 | 13.9% | |
| 3 | Arcing | 10 | 13.9% | |
| 4 | Hot or smoldering object, other | 10 | 13.9% | |
| 5 | Radiated, conducted heat from operating equipment | 4 | 5.6% | |
| 6 | Heat, spark from friction | 3 | 4.2% | |
| 7 | Heat source: other | 2 | 2.8% | |
| 8 | Spark, ember or flame from operating equipment | 2 | 2.8% | |
| 9 | Hot ember or ash | 2 | 2.8% | |
| 10 | Incendiary device | 2 | 2.8% | |
| 11 | All other sources | 9 | 12.5% |
Largest single-incident property losses reported by Williamston departments in 2025. These 4 fires alone account for 100% of the city's annual total.
| # | Property loss | Type | Severity | Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | $51,000 | Off-road vehicle or heavy equipment fire | Significant | Investigated |
| 2 | $2,000 | Passenger vehicle fire | Significant | Investigated |
| 3 | $2,000 | Passenger vehicle fire | Significant | Investigated |
| 4 | $1 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
Per-capita rates let us compare apples to apples. Williamston sits above the national average for incidents per resident.
Top 25 wildfires (1992+) in the FPA-FOD ignitions database, scaled by acres. 1,767 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 | 44.8 mi | |
| 2020 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 143 | 9.6 mi | |
| 1996 | Arson/incendiarism | 142 | 11.3 mi | |
| 2018 | Natural | 105 | 44.2 mi | |
| 2018 | Equipment and vehicle use | 100 | 18.6 mi | |
| 1996 | Debris and open burning | 98 | 36.3 mi | |
| 1996 | Arson/incendiarism | 96 | 25.6 mi | |
| 1996 | Debris and open burning | 80 | 11.3 mi | |
| 2003 | Equipment and vehicle use | 70 | 2.5 mi | |
| 2019 | Equipment and vehicle use | 61 | 34.9 mi | |
| 1994 | Debris and open burning | 60 | 9.3 mi | |
| 2015 | Debris and open burning | 57 | 44.1 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 Williamston. Useful comparison targets — same state, similar size, different fire profile.
1 departments report to NFIRS for incidents in Williamston.
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.