In 2025, fire departments serving Kent County responded to 5,158 fire and hazmat incidents — including a single $1.5M property loss. FEMA NRI rates wildfire risk here as Moderate.
Power line down lead by count. Top five categories make up about 57% of all calls.
Mar peaks. Dec dips.
27,465 incidents from 2021 through 2025.
| Year | Incidents | |
|---|---|---|
| 2021 | 5,414 | |
| 2022 | 5,093 | |
| 2023 | 5,725 | |
| 2024 | 6,075 | |
| 2025 | 5,158 |
For the 618 building fires departments responded to in 2025, here's how investigators classified them.
Largest single-incident property losses in Kent County during 2025. These 10 fires alone account for 34% of the county's total.
| # | Property loss | City | Type | Severity |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | $1,500,000 | VERGENNES TWP | Building fires | Major |
| 2 | $1,000,000 | Kentwood | Building fires | Major |
| 3 | $850,000 | Comstock Park | Building fires | Major |
| 4 | $800,000 | Grand Rapids | Building fires | Major |
| 5 | $750,000 | Alto | Building fires | Major |
| 6 | $643,280 | Grand Rapids | Building fires | Major |
| 7 | $607,500 | Grand Rapids | Building fires | Major |
| 8 | $600,000 | ADA TWP | Building fires | Major |
| 9 | $520,000 | CALEDONIA | Building fires | Major |
| 10 | $500,000 | Comstock Park | Outside equipment fire | Major |
Per-capita rates let us compare apples to apples.
12 cities mapped to FIPS 26081.
| City | Population | |
|---|---|---|
| Grand Rapids | 198,096 | View › |
| Wyoming | 76,732 | View › |
| Kentwood | 54,042 | View › |
| Forest Hills | 28,425 | View › |
| Walker | 25,175 | View › |
| Cutlerville | 19,281 | View › |
| Grandville | 16,017 | View › |
| Northview | 15,428 | View › |
| East Grand Rapids | 11,385 | View › |
| Comstock Park | 10,379 | View › |
| Byron Center | 6,988 | View › |
| Rockford | 6,144 | View › |
18 departments report from this county.
Top 10 fire perimeters by acres burned (state-scoped fallback while we build out per-county polygons).
| # | Name | Year | Agency | Acres |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Brittle | 2021 | USFS | 5,666 |
| 2 | 21-SLBE Lasso Loop burn | 2021 | NPS | 577 |
| 3 | 21-SLBE Peterson | 2021 | NPS | 512 |
| 4 | 21-SLBE Otter Creek burn | 2021 | NPS | 506 |
| 5 | Horn | 2021 | NPS | 485 |
| 6 | Unhappy Camper | 2015 | USFS | 471 |
| 7 | 21-SLBE Bass Lake burn | 2021 | NPS | 405 |
| 8 | Good Harbor Trail RX | 2023 | NPS | 342 |
| 9 | Summit Lake | 2024 | USFS | 327 |
| 10 | MISNR-FY19-RX-Red Pine Natural Area | 2019 | FWS | 172 |
County-level NFIRS aggregates for 2025, plus 5-year totals across 2021–2025. NFIRS is voluntary — about 23,000 of roughly 30,000 US fire departments report — so totals are a strong indicator, not a complete census. Wildfire risk score (0–100) and Expected Annual Loss come from FEMA's National Risk Index. Drought class is the most recent USDM classification (D0 = abnormally dry through D4 = exceptional drought). Historical fire perimeters are sourced from the NIFC InterAgency Fire Perimeter History.