In 2025, fire departments serving Avon responded to 59 fire and hazmat incidents — from cooking fires to gas leaks to a single $80K building blaze. Here's the full picture.
Power line down lead by count. Building fires lead by dollars. Together the top five categories make up about 43% of all calls.
May peaks. Oct dips. Watch for the typical fall climb starting in October.
391 incidents 2021–2025. Peak year was 2022. $2.5M cumulative property loss.
| Year | Incidents | YoY | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2021 | 79 | — | |
| 2022 | 90 | +13.9% | |
| 2023 | 89 | -1.1% | |
| 2024 | 74 | -16.9% | |
| 2025 | 59 | -20.3% |
For the 5 building fires Avon departments responded to in 2025, here's how they were classified once investigators were finished.
NFIRS Area of Origin (AREA_ORIG) for the 116 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 | 25 | 21.6% | |
| 2 | Engine area, running gear, wheel area | 24 | 20.7% | |
| 3 | Wildland, woods | 9 | 7.8% | |
| 4 | Open area - outside; included are farmland, field | 7 | 6.0% | |
| 5 | Outside area, other | 6 | 5.2% | |
| 6 | Other | 5 | 4.3% | |
| 7 | Highway, parking lot, street: on or near | 5 | 4.3% | |
| 8 | Chute/container - trash, rubbish, waste | 3 | 2.6% | |
| 9 | Vehicle storage area; garage, carport | 3 | 2.6% | |
| 10 | Operator/passenger area of transportation equip. | 3 | 2.6% | |
| 11 | All other areas | 26 | 22.4% |
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 Avon mix.
| # | Heat source | Count | Share | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Undetermined | 72 | 62.1% | |
| 2 | Radiated, conducted heat from operating equipment | 9 | 7.8% | |
| 3 | Spark, ember or flame from operating equipment | 6 | 5.2% | |
| 4 | Heat from powered equipment, other | 4 | 3.4% | |
| 5 | Arcing | 4 | 3.4% | |
| 6 | Hot ember or ash | 4 | 3.4% | |
| 7 | Heat source: other | 3 | 2.6% | |
| 8 | Match | 3 | 2.6% | |
| 9 | Heat, spark from friction | 2 | 1.7% | |
| 10 | Flame/torch used for lighting | 2 | 1.7% | |
| 11 | All other sources | 7 | 6.0% |
Largest single-incident property losses reported by Avon departments in 2025. These 8 fires alone account for 100% of the city's annual total.
| # | Property loss | Type | Severity | Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | $80,000 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
| 2 | $23,600 | Passenger vehicle fire | Significant | Investigated |
| 3 | $20,000 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
| 4 | $8,000 | Passenger vehicle fire | Significant | Investigated |
| 5 | $7,000 | Passenger vehicle fire | Significant | Investigated |
| 6 | $5,000 | Commercial Compactor fire, confined to rubbish | Significant | Investigated |
| 7 | $2,000 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
| 8 | $800 | Brush, or brush and grass mixture fire | Significant | Investigated |
Per-capita rates let us compare apples to apples. Avon sits above the national average for incidents per resident.
Top 25 wildfires (1992+) in the FPA-FOD ignitions database, scaled by acres. 3,803 acres burned in this 50-mile radius. Each dot is a fire — bigger dots burned more land.
| Year | Cause | Acres | Distance | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2005 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 800 | 39.6 mi | |
| 2008 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 700 | 39.6 mi | |
| 2003 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 300 | 12.7 mi | |
| 2002 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 300 | 39.6 mi | |
| 2014 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 256 | 39.5 mi | |
| 2015 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 250 | 40.2 mi | |
| 2007 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 186 | 34.1 mi | |
| 2016 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 172 | 39.6 mi | |
| 2016 | Natural | 120 | 38.7 mi | |
| 2014 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 90 | 26.4 mi | |
| 2020 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 79 | 39.7 mi | |
| 2018 | Debris and open burning | 58 | 39.1 mi |
Top 4 ZIP codes by NFIRS incident count across 2021–2025. Each ZIP has its own fire profile — dive in for neighborhood-level context.
Six Massachusetts cities with population within ±25% of Avon. 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.