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Risk & Response

Berrien County, MI

Community risk profile | NRI Score: 29.7 Relatively Low

153,288
Population
25
Departments
45
Stations
54
Census Tracts

Natural Hazard Loss Profile

Expected annual loss across the 18 natural hazards in FEMA's National Risk Index. Life safety is expressed in fatality-equivalents, combining expected deaths and injuries. Property loss counts building damage only, not agriculture.

Natural Hazard Life Safety
0.92
expected fatality-equivalents per year, natural hazards only
15th highest of 83
Life Safety per 100k
0.60
natural hazard fatality-equivalents per 100,000 residents
50th highest of 83
Natural Hazard Property Loss
$32.0M
expected building loss per year, natural hazards only
14th highest of 83
Property Loss per Resident
$208
natural hazard building loss per resident per year
53rd highest of 83

These figures cover natural hazards only. Structure fire, EMS, and motor vehicle incidents are not in the National Risk Index, so this is not an all-cause life safety measure. For Berrien County, the largest single contributor is Cold Wave, 47% of the life-safety total.

Berrien County carries an expected under 1 natural hazard fatality-equivalents and $32.0M in building loss per year. Rank chips compare the 83 Michigan counties. Nationally, Berrien County ranks 639th of 3,222 U.S. counties for life-safety loss, 2384th for life safety per 100k residents, 564th for property loss, and 2694th for property loss per resident. Computed from census tract data covering every resident, independent of fire department boundaries.

Add fire mortality, cause, and loss

Natural hazard exposure is only part of the risk. Fire deaths and injuries, cause of ignition, and dollar loss per incident come from NERIS incident reporting, which grows as departments serving Berrien County enroll. Our Regional tier adds that data for the departments your jurisdiction sponsors, next to public risk and NERIS adoption for every department in Berrien County.

Talk to us about Berrien County See what a department sees

Loss Breakdown

71%
28%
Property (buildings): $32.0M (70.9%)
Life safety: $12.5M (27.8%)
Agriculture: $566K (1.3%)

Total expected annual loss: $45,063,810 per year. Life safety is shown here in dollars, at FEMA's $13.7M value of statistical life, so the three shares sum to the total.

Hazards Ranked Two Ways

The hazard that threatens people is often not the hazard that destroys buildings. Both columns cover the same 18 hazards over the same year.

By life-safety loss ($/yr)

Cold Wave
$5.9M
Strong Wind
$2.7M
Tornado
$2.3M
Heat Wave
$713K
Lightning
$289K
Earthquake
$202K

By property loss ($/yr)

Inland Flooding
$27.0M
Tornado
$2.3M
Hail
$1.5M
Earthquake
$695K
Strong Wind
$256K
Lightning
$56K

Census Tract Risk Map

Shaded by quintile across the census tracts in Berrien County. Gray tracts have no modeled loss or no resident population. Per-resident figures on this map use the National Risk Index 2020 tract population.

Fire Service Profile

24%
72%
Combination: 24% (6)
Volunteer: 72% (18)
Unreported: 4% (1)
Residents per Station
3,406
census population per registered station
Stations per 100k
29.4
registered stations per 100,000 residents

Department composition covers the 25 departments registered in NERIS Public for Berrien County, MI. Departments that have not registered are not counted. Station coverage divides census population by registered stations; department service areas overlap, so their populations are not summed.

Department Rankings

Fire and EMS departments serving Berrien County. Click column headers to sort.

NRI Rating is from FEMA's National Risk Index, which measures community risk across 18 natural hazards using expected annual losses, social vulnerability, and community resilience. Life-Safety Loss uses FEMA's Value of Statistical Life ($13.7M per expected fatality) to estimate annual risk to human life.

Department boundaries and station counts are self-reported through NERIS Public and may not reflect current service areas. Population and Life-Safety Loss reflect each department's full jurisdiction. County-level risk metrics are computed from census tract data and are not affected by boundary accuracy. See full methodology.

Showing 25 departments
Department ▲ Est. Population ▲ Life-Safety Loss ▼ NRI Rating ▲ Stations ▲
Niles Charter Township Fire Department 49,079 $3.7M Relatively Low 2
North Berrien Fire Rescue Department 28,241 $2.1M Relatively Low 5
Lincoln Charter Township Fire Department 23,520 $2.0M Relatively Low 2
Edwardsburg Fire Department 22,652 $1.8M Relatively Low 1
Berrien Springs-Oronoko Township Fire Department 18,481 $1.5M Relatively Moderate 2
Benton Charter Township Fire Department 16,384 $1.3M Relatively Low 3
Niles Fire Department 12,266 $1.0M Relatively Low 2
Buchanan Township Fire Department 10,067 $819.7K Relatively Low 1
Benton Harbor Department Of Public Safety 10,134 $770.5K Very Low 1
St. Joseph Charter Fire Department #1 9,140 $717.6K Very Low 2
Pipestone, Berrien Townships, Eau Claire Fire Department 7,059 $577.1K Relatively Moderate 2
Sister Lakes Volunteer Fire Department 8,173 $537.1K Relatively Low 4
City of St. Joseph Department of Public Safety 6,483 $499.6K Relatively Low 3
Lake Township Fire Department 5,411 $458.9K Very Low 2
Royalton Township Fire Department 5,140 $417.7K Relatively High 1
Watervliet Fire Department 5,211 $377.2K Relatively Moderate 1
New Buffalo Township Fire Dept 3,737 $345.2K Relatively Low 2
Baroda Fire Department 2,833 $238.8K Relatively Low 1
Chikaming Township Fire Department 2,748 $237.4K Relatively Low 1
Bertrand Township Fire Department 2,600 $212.0K Relatively Low 2
Three Oaks Fire Department 2,215 $195.8K Very Low 1
Buchanan City Fire Department 2,307 $189.3K Relatively Moderate 1
Sodus Township Volunteer Fire Department 2,383 $172.6K Very Low 1
Weesaw Township Fire Rescue 1,914 $157.6K Relatively Low 1
Galien Township Fire Department 1,297 $119.3K Very Low 1
No departments match your search.

Risk Snapshot

15.1%
Poverty Rate
21.3%
Age 65+
14.3%
Disability Rate
6.4%
Uninsured
69.4%
Pre-1980 Housing
4.2%
Mobile Homes
17.2%
Vacancy Rate
1.5%
Wood Heat
$70,248
Median HH Income

FEMA Disaster Declarations

2
Last 10 Years
5
Last 25 Years
Flood
Most Frequent

Every department in your region, on one briefing

Our Regional tier gives state fire marshals and county fire authorities one briefing across every department in the jurisdiction: priority tracts ranked by risk and demand, NERIS adoption by county, and a quarterly report with a page per department. Response times appear for the departments you sponsor. Free 90-day pilot.

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