In 2025, fire departments serving St. Joseph County responded to 442 fire and hazmat incidents — including a single $300K property loss.
Power line down lead by count. Top five categories make up about 71% of all calls.
Mar peaks. Oct dips.
2,461 incidents from 2021 through 2025.
| Year | Incidents | |
|---|---|---|
| 2021 | 586 | |
| 2022 | 391 | |
| 2023 | 489 | |
| 2024 | 553 | |
| 2025 | 442 |
For the 53 building fires departments responded to in 2025, here's how investigators classified them.
Largest single-incident property losses in St. Joseph County during 2025. These 10 fires alone account for 97% of the county's total.
| # | Property loss | City | Type | Severity |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | $300,000 | Burr Oak | Building fires | Major |
| 2 | $80,200 | THREE RIVERS | Building fires | Significant |
| 3 | $50,000 | Mendon | Building fires | Significant |
| 4 | $50,000 | City of Sturgis | Building fires | Significant |
| 5 | $10,000 | Burr Oak | Building fires | Significant |
| 6 | $10,000 | Burr Oak | Brush, or brush and grass mixture fire | Significant |
| 7 | $5,000 | Mottville | Passenger vehicle fire | Significant |
| 8 | $5,000 | White Pigeon | Building fires | Significant |
| 9 | $5,000 | White Pigeon | Building fires | Significant |
| 10 | $4,500 | Three Rivers | Passenger vehicle fire | Significant |
Per-capita rates let us compare apples to apples.
12 cities mapped to FIPS 26149.
| City | Population | |
|---|---|---|
| Sturgis | 11,050 | View › |
| Three Rivers | 7,923 | View › |
| Constantine | 2,214 | View › |
| White Pigeon | 1,544 | View › |
| Colon | 1,391 | View › |
| Centreville | 1,313 | View › |
| Burr Oak | 820 | View › |
| Mendon | 811 | View › |
| Bluff Beach | 0 | View › |
| Fairfax | 0 | View › |
| Findley | 0 | View › |
| Fabius | 0 | View › |
6 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.