In 2025, fire departments serving Berkley responded to 60 fire and hazmat incidents — from cooking fires to gas leaks to a single $110K building blaze. Here's the full picture.
Carbon monoxide incident lead by count. Building fires lead by dollars. Together the top five categories make up about 62% of all calls.
Mar peaks. Feb dips. Watch for the typical fall climb starting in October.
363 incidents 2021–2025. Peak year was 2023. $931K cumulative property loss.
| Year | Incidents | YoY | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2021 | 71 | — | |
| 2022 | 72 | +1.4% | |
| 2023 | 96 | +33.3% | |
| 2024 | 64 | -33.3% | |
| 2025 | 60 | -6.2% |
For the 4 building fires Berkley departments responded to in 2025, here's how they were classified once investigators were finished.
NFIRS Area of Origin (AREA_ORIG) for the 75 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 | Open area - outside; included are farmland, field | 21 | 28.0% | |
| 2 | Engine area, running gear, wheel area | 16 | 21.3% | |
| 3 | Undetermined | 6 | 8.0% | |
| 4 | Highway, parking lot, street: on or near | 5 | 6.7% | |
| 5 | Wildland, woods | 4 | 5.3% | |
| 6 | Outside area, other | 3 | 4.0% | |
| 7 | Other | 2 | 2.7% | |
| 8 | Heating room or area, water heater area | 2 | 2.7% | |
| 9 | Wall surface: exterior | 2 | 2.7% | |
| 10 | Vehicle area, other | 2 | 2.7% | |
| 11 | All other areas | 12 | 16.0% |
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 Berkley mix.
| # | Heat source | Count | Share | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Undetermined | 13 | 17.3% | |
| 2 | Hot ember or ash | 10 | 13.3% | |
| 3 | Arcing | 8 | 10.7% | |
| 4 | Flying brand, ember, spark | 7 | 9.3% | |
| 5 | Spark, ember or flame from operating equipment | 6 | 8.0% | |
| 6 | Heat from direct flame, convection currents | 6 | 8.0% | |
| 7 | Heat from powered equipment, other | 5 | 6.7% | |
| 8 | Radiated, conducted heat from operating equipment | 5 | 6.7% | |
| 9 | Heat source: other | 3 | 4.0% | |
| 10 | Hot or smoldering object, other | 3 | 4.0% | |
| 11 | All other sources | 9 | 12.0% |
Largest single-incident property losses reported by Berkley departments in 2025. These 6 fires alone account for 100% of the city's annual total.
| # | Property loss | Type | Severity | Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | $110,000 | Passenger vehicle fire | Significant | Investigated |
| 2 | $75,000 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
| 3 | $25,000 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
| 4 | $14,500 | Passenger vehicle fire | Significant | Investigated |
| 5 | $4,000 | Fire, other | Significant | Investigated |
| 6 | $1,300 | Cooking fire, confined to container | Significant | Investigated |
Per-capita rates let us compare apples to apples. Berkley sits above the national average for incidents per resident.
Top 25 wildfires (1992+) in the FPA-FOD ignitions database, scaled by acres. 1,197 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 | 300 | 31.4 mi | |
| 2016 | Natural | 120 | 29.4 mi | |
| 2014 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 90 | 46.5 mi | |
| 2016 | Debris and open burning | 55 | 8.4 mi | |
| 2015 | Smoking | 50 | 45.8 mi | |
| 2020 | Debris and open burning | 50 | 40.5 mi | |
| 2008 | Misuse of fire by a minor | 40 | 41.4 mi | |
| 2001 | Debris and open burning | 35 | 39.8 mi | |
| 2016 | Recreation and ceremony | 32 | 46.0 mi | |
| 2010 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 30 | 39.8 mi | |
| 1999 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 30 | 43.2 mi | |
| 1999 | Arson/incendiarism | 30 | 41.4 mi |
Top 3 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 Berkley. 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.