In 2025, fire departments serving Zeeland responded to 201 fire and hazmat incidents — from cooking fires to gas leaks to a single $200K building blaze. Here's the full picture.
Building fires lead by count. Building fires lead by dollars. Together the top five categories make up about 49% of all calls.
May peaks. Dec dips. Watch for the typical fall climb starting in October.
926 incidents 2021–2025. Peak year was 2023. $4.8M cumulative property loss.
| Year | Incidents | YoY | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2021 | 174 | — | |
| 2022 | 131 | -24.7% | |
| 2023 | 214 | +63.4% | |
| 2024 | 206 | -3.7% | |
| 2025 | 201 | -2.4% |
For the 34 building fires Zeeland departments responded to in 2025, here's how they were classified once investigators were finished.
NFIRS Area of Origin (AREA_ORIG) for the 153 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 | 22.9% | |
| 2 | Engine area, running gear, wheel area | 33 | 21.6% | |
| 3 | Cooking area, kitchen | 7 | 4.6% | |
| 4 | Common room, den, family room, living room, lounge | 6 | 3.9% | |
| 5 | Bedroom - < 5 persons; included are jail or prison | 5 | 3.3% | |
| 6 | Attic: vacant, crawl space above top story, cupola | 5 | 3.3% | |
| 7 | Outside area, other | 5 | 3.3% | |
| 8 | Laundry area, wash house (laundry) | 4 | 2.6% | |
| 9 | Storage area, other | 4 | 2.6% | |
| 10 | Structural area, other | 4 | 2.6% | |
| 11 | All other areas | 45 | 29.4% |
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 Zeeland mix.
| # | Heat source | Count | Share | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Undetermined | 73 | 47.7% | |
| 2 | Radiated, conducted heat from operating equipment | 17 | 11.1% | |
| 3 | Heat from powered equipment, other | 16 | 10.5% | |
| 4 | Arcing | 11 | 7.2% | |
| 5 | Spark, ember or flame from operating equipment | 7 | 4.6% | |
| 6 | Hot or smoldering object, other | 7 | 4.6% | |
| 7 | Heat, spark from friction | 6 | 3.9% | |
| 8 | Heat source: other | 4 | 2.6% | |
| 9 | Cigarette | 3 | 2.0% | |
| 10 | Flying brand, ember, spark | 2 | 1.3% | |
| 11 | All other sources | 7 | 4.6% |
Largest single-incident property losses reported by Zeeland departments in 2025. These 8 fires alone account for 99% of the city's annual total.
| # | Property loss | Type | Severity | Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | $200,000 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
| 2 | $150,000 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
| 3 | $150,000 | Off-road vehicle or heavy equipment fire | Significant | Investigated |
| 4 | $35,000 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
| 5 | $25,000 | Passenger vehicle fire | Significant | Investigated |
| 6 | $20,000 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
| 7 | $5,000 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
| 8 | $4,000 | Passenger vehicle fire | Significant | Investigated |
Per-capita rates let us compare apples to apples. Zeeland sits above the national average for incidents per resident.
Top 25 wildfires (1992+) in the FPA-FOD ignitions database, scaled by acres. 2,353 acres burned in this 50-mile radius. Each dot is a fire — bigger dots burned more land.
| Year | Cause | Acres | Distance | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2003 | Arson/incendiarism | 275 | 36.6 mi | |
| 2010 | Power generation/transmission/distribution | 175 | 32.4 mi | |
| 2003 | Debris and open burning | 162 | 44.0 mi | |
| 1994 | Arson/incendiarism | 151 | 45.2 mi | |
| 1994 | Arson/incendiarism | 150 | 40.4 mi | |
| 1996 | Equipment and vehicle use | 119 | 40.5 mi | |
| 1994 | Recreation and ceremony | 107 | 38.8 mi | |
| 2003 | Arson/incendiarism | 106 | 48.6 mi | |
| 2018 | Arson/incendiarism | 105 | 43.1 mi | |
| 2018 | Arson/incendiarism | 105 | 43.2 mi | |
| 1995 | Recreation and ceremony | 93 | 47.4 mi | |
| 1993 | Smoking | 90 | 12.4 mi |
Top 3 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 Zeeland. Useful comparison targets — same state, similar size, different fire profile.
3 departments report to NFIRS for incidents in Zeeland.
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.