In 2025, fire departments serving Belfast responded to 90 fire and hazmat incidents — from cooking fires to gas leaks to a single $150K 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 47% of all calls.
Nov peaks. Dec dips. Watch for the typical fall climb starting in October.
480 incidents 2021–2025. Peak year was 2024. $20.9M cumulative property loss.
| Year | Incidents | YoY | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2021 | 69 | — | |
| 2022 | 95 | +37.7% | |
| 2023 | 87 | -8.4% | |
| 2024 | 139 | +59.8% | |
| 2025 | 90 | -35.3% |
For the 4 building fires Belfast departments responded to in 2025, here's how they were classified once investigators were finished.
NFIRS Area of Origin (AREA_ORIG) for the 35 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 | Engine area, running gear, wheel area | 9 | 25.7% | |
| 2 | Undetermined | 5 | 14.3% | |
| 3 | Cooking area, kitchen | 4 | 11.4% | |
| 4 | Equipment or service area, other | 3 | 8.6% | |
| 5 | Chute/container - trash, rubbish, waste | 2 | 5.7% | |
| 6 | Egress/exit, other | 1 | 2.9% | |
| 7 | Common room, den, family room, living room, lounge | 1 | 2.9% | |
| 8 | Bedroom - < 5 persons; included are jail or prison | 1 | 2.9% | |
| 9 | Storage room, area, tank, or bin | 1 | 2.9% | |
| 10 | Closet | 1 | 2.9% | |
| 11 | All other areas | 7 | 20.0% |
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 Belfast mix.
| # | Heat source | Count | Share | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Undetermined | 13 | 37.1% | |
| 2 | Radiated, conducted heat from operating equipment | 5 | 14.3% | |
| 3 | Hot ember or ash | 4 | 11.4% | |
| 4 | Arcing | 3 | 8.6% | |
| 5 | Spark, ember or flame from operating equipment | 2 | 5.7% | |
| 6 | Flying brand, ember, spark | 2 | 5.7% | |
| 7 | Cigarette | 1 | 2.9% | |
| 8 | Match | 1 | 2.9% | |
| 9 | Cigarette lighter | 1 | 2.9% | |
| 10 | Backfire from internal combustion engine | 1 | 2.9% | |
| 11 | All other sources | 2 | 5.7% |
Largest single-incident property losses reported by Belfast departments in 2025. These 6 fires alone account for 100% of the city's annual total.
| # | Property loss | Type | Severity | Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | $150,000 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
| 2 | $50,000 | Mobile property (vehicle) fire, other | Significant | Investigated |
| 3 | $20,000 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
| 4 | $15,000 | Mobile property (vehicle) fire, other | Significant | Investigated |
| 5 | $1,500 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
| 6 | $500 | Trash or rubbish fire, contained | Significant | Investigated |
Per-capita rates let us compare apples to apples. Belfast sits above the national average for incidents per resident.
Top 25 wildfires (1992+) in the FPA-FOD ignitions database, scaled by acres. 966 acres burned in this 50-mile radius. Each dot is a fire — bigger dots burned more land.
| Year | Cause | Acres | Distance | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2003 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 124 | 45.4 mi | |
| 1994 | Misuse of fire by a minor | 100 | 44.0 mi | |
| 2001 | Debris and open burning | 77 | 4.7 mi | |
| 2002 | Recreation and ceremony | 57 | 31.8 mi | |
| 1992 | Debris and open burning | 50 | 24.4 mi | |
| 2015 | Debris and open burning | 48 | 11.2 mi | |
| 1992 | Debris and open burning | 42 | 46.0 mi | |
| 1995 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 40 | 23.9 mi | |
| 1997 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 40 | 45.1 mi | |
| 2016 | Misuse of fire by a minor | 35 | 3.6 mi | |
| 2006 | Debris and open burning | 34 | 43.1 mi | |
| 1999 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 33 | 22.0 mi |
Top 1 ZIP codes by NFIRS incident count across 2021–2025. Each ZIP has its own fire profile — dive in for neighborhood-level context.
| # | ZIP | 5-yr incidents | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 04915 | 480 |
Six Maine cities with population within ±25% of Belfast. Useful comparison targets — same state, similar size, different fire profile.
1 departments report to NFIRS for incidents in Belfast.
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.