In 2025, fire departments serving Andover responded to 11 fire and hazmat incidents — from cooking fires to gas leaks to a single $1 building blaze. Here's the full picture.
Incomplete 2025 data. Andover's departments reported 11 incidents to NFIRS for 2025, against about 21 in a typical year, so 2025 figures on this page undercount. The 2021–2025 totals are the better guide.
Biological hazard, confirmed or suspected lead by count. Building fires lead by dollars. Together the top five categories make up about 73% of all calls.
Oct peaks. Jan dips. Watch for the typical fall climb starting in October.
106 incidents 2021–2025. Peak year was 2021. $21K cumulative property loss.
| Year | Incidents | YoY | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2021 | 41 | — | |
| 2022 | 16 | -61.0% | |
| 2023 | 24 | +50.0% | |
| 2024 | 14 | -41.7% | |
| 2025* | 11 | — |
* Well below Andover's usual volume. That almost always means one or more departments didn't submit a full year to NFIRS, not that fires dropped, so no year-over-year change is shown for it.
For the 1 building fires Andover departments responded to in 2025, here's how they were classified once investigators were finished.
NFIRS Area of Origin (AREA_ORIG) for the 14 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 | 6 | 42.9% | |
| 2 | Laundry area, wash house (laundry) | 2 | 14.3% | |
| 3 | Common room, den, family room, living room, lounge | 1 | 7.1% | |
| 4 | Bedroom - < 5 persons; included are jail or prison | 1 | 7.1% | |
| 5 | Equipment or service area, other | 1 | 7.1% | |
| 6 | Engine area, running gear, wheel area | 1 | 7.1% | |
| 7 | Wildland, woods | 1 | 7.1% | |
| 8 | Vacant structural area | 1 | 7.1% |
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 Andover mix.
| # | Heat source | Count | Share | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Undetermined | 7 | 50.0% | |
| 2 | Spark, ember or flame from operating equipment | 3 | 21.4% | |
| 3 | Hot ember or ash | 3 | 21.4% | |
| 4 | Other static discharge | 1 | 7.1% |
Largest single-incident property losses reported by Andover departments in 2025. These 1 fires alone account for 100% of the city's annual total.
| # | Property loss | Type | Severity | Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | $1 | Fire in motor home, camper, recreational vehicle | Significant | Investigated |
Per-capita rates let us compare apples to apples. Andover sits above the national average for incidents per resident.
Top 25 wildfires (1992+) in the FPA-FOD ignitions database, scaled by acres. 1,204 acres burned in this 50-mile radius. Each dot is a fire — bigger dots burned more land.
| Year | Cause | Acres | Distance | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2016 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 329 | 48.7 mi | |
| 2004 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 139 | 43.6 mi | |
| 2006 | Railroad operations and maintenance | 100 | 26.6 mi | |
| 1992 | Arson/incendiarism | 64 | 8.0 mi | |
| 1995 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 60 | 35.7 mi | |
| 2000 | Debris and open burning | 51 | 21.1 mi | |
| 2016 | Natural | 43 | 32.2 mi | |
| 2006 | Debris and open burning | 40 | 17.6 mi | |
| 2003 | Debris and open burning | 40 | 31.1 mi | |
| 2006 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 39 | 39.0 mi | |
| 2011 | Arson/incendiarism | 33 | 29.3 mi | |
| 2013 | Arson/incendiarism | 32 | 44.8 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 Maine cities with population within ±25% of Andover. Useful comparison targets — same state, similar size, different fire profile.
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.