In 2025, fire departments serving Benton responded to 37 fire and hazmat incidents . Here's the full picture.
Building fires lead by count. Building fires lead by dollars. Together the top five categories make up about 87% of all calls.
Jan peaks. May dips. Watch for the typical fall climb starting in October.
99 incidents 2021–2025. Peak year was 2025.
| Year | Incidents | YoY | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2021* | 11 | — | |
| 2022* | 6 | — | |
| 2023 | 28 | — | |
| 2024 | 17 | -39.3% | |
| 2025 | 37 | +117.6% |
* Well below Benton'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 23 building fires Benton departments responded to in 2025, here's how they were classified once investigators were finished.
NFIRS Area of Origin (AREA_ORIG) for the 21 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 | Vehicle area, other | 4 | 19.0% | |
| 2 | Other | 3 | 14.3% | |
| 3 | Engine area, running gear, wheel area | 3 | 14.3% | |
| 4 | Outside area, other | 2 | 9.5% | |
| 5 | Bedroom - < 5 persons; included are jail or prison | 1 | 4.8% | |
| 6 | Bathroom, checkroom, lavatory, locker room | 1 | 4.8% | |
| 7 | Technical processing areas, other | 1 | 4.8% | |
| 8 | Exterior balcony, unenclosed porch | 1 | 4.8% | |
| 9 | Wall surface: exterior | 1 | 4.8% | |
| 10 | Awning | 1 | 4.8% | |
| 11 | All other areas | 3 | 14.3% |
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 Benton mix.
| # | Heat source | Count | Share | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Undetermined | 5 | 23.8% | |
| 2 | Hot ember or ash | 3 | 14.3% | |
| 3 | Chemical reaction | 3 | 14.3% | |
| 4 | Heat source: other | 2 | 9.5% | |
| 5 | Heat from powered equipment, other | 2 | 9.5% | |
| 6 | Arcing | 2 | 9.5% | |
| 7 | Spark, ember or flame from operating equipment | 1 | 4.8% | |
| 8 | Radiated, conducted heat from operating equipment | 1 | 4.8% | |
| 9 | Hot or smoldering object, other | 1 | 4.8% | |
| 10 | Flame/torch used for lighting | 1 | 4.8% |
Per-capita rates let us compare apples to apples. Benton sits above the national average for incidents per resident.
Top 25 wildfires (1992+) in the FPA-FOD ignitions database, scaled by acres. 909 acres burned in this 50-mile radius. Each dot is a fire — bigger dots burned more land.
| Year | Cause | Acres | Distance | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2001 | Debris and open burning | 77 | 30.0 mi | |
| 2016 | Debris and open burning | 61 | 48.7 mi | |
| 2002 | Recreation and ceremony | 57 | 22.0 mi | |
| 1992 | Debris and open burning | 50 | 42.1 mi | |
| 2015 | Debris and open burning | 48 | 20.1 mi | |
| 2016 | Natural | 43 | 45.9 mi | |
| 2003 | Debris and open burning | 40 | 35.4 mi | |
| 1995 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 40 | 11.6 mi | |
| 1997 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 40 | 25.7 mi | |
| 2006 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 39 | 45.5 mi | |
| 2016 | Misuse of fire by a minor | 35 | 25.1 mi | |
| 2006 | Debris and open burning | 34 | 42.0 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 Benton. 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.