In 2025, fire departments serving Berlin responded to 49 fire and hazmat incidents — from cooking fires to gas leaks to a single $100K building blaze. Here's the full picture.
Building fires lead by count. Building fires lead by dollars. Together the top five categories make up about 49% of all calls.
Mar peaks. Jun dips. Watch for the typical fall climb starting in October.
329 incidents 2021–2025. Peak year was 2023. $1.4M cumulative property loss. 1 civilian deaths.
| Year | Incidents | YoY | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2021 | 62 | — | |
| 2022 | 60 | -3.2% | |
| 2023 | 88 | +46.7% | |
| 2024 | 70 | -20.5% | |
| 2025 | 49 | -30.0% |
For the 9 building fires Berlin departments responded to in 2025, here's how they were classified once investigators were finished.
NFIRS Area of Origin (AREA_ORIG) for the 83 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 | 20 | 24.1% | |
| 2 | Outside area, other | 11 | 13.3% | |
| 3 | Other | 7 | 8.4% | |
| 4 | Cooking area, kitchen | 7 | 8.4% | |
| 5 | Engine area, running gear, wheel area | 6 | 7.2% | |
| 6 | Wildland, woods | 6 | 7.2% | |
| 7 | Open area - outside; included are farmland, field | 4 | 4.8% | |
| 8 | Storage: supplies or tools; dead storage | 2 | 2.4% | |
| 9 | Equipment or service area, other | 2 | 2.4% | |
| 10 | Operator/passenger area of transportation equip. | 2 | 2.4% | |
| 11 | All other areas | 16 | 19.3% |
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 Berlin mix.
| # | Heat source | Count | Share | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Undetermined | 36 | 43.4% | |
| 2 | Arcing | 9 | 10.8% | |
| 3 | Heat from powered equipment, other | 6 | 7.2% | |
| 4 | Hot ember or ash | 5 | 6.0% | |
| 5 | Heat source: other | 4 | 4.8% | |
| 6 | Spark, ember or flame from operating equipment | 4 | 4.8% | |
| 7 | Radiated, conducted heat from operating equipment | 3 | 3.6% | |
| 8 | Hot or smoldering object, other | 3 | 3.6% | |
| 9 | Match | 3 | 3.6% | |
| 10 | Cigarette lighter | 2 | 2.4% | |
| 11 | All other sources | 8 | 9.6% |
Largest single-incident property losses reported by Berlin departments in 2025. These 4 fires alone account for 100% of the city's annual total.
| # | Property loss | Type | Severity | Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | $100,000 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
| 2 | $12,000 | Passenger vehicle fire | Significant | Investigated |
| 3 | $7,000 | Fires in structures other than in a building | Significant | Investigated |
| 4 | $3,000 | Mobile property (vehicle) fire, other | Significant | Investigated |
Per-capita rates let us compare apples to apples. Berlin sits above the national average for incidents per resident.
Top 25 wildfires (1992+) in the FPA-FOD ignitions database, scaled by acres. 4,060 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 | 7.8 mi | |
| 2008 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 700 | 7.8 mi | |
| 2003 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 300 | 24.3 mi | |
| 2002 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 300 | 7.8 mi | |
| 2014 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 256 | 7.7 mi | |
| 2001 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 250 | 47.1 mi | |
| 2015 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 250 | 8.3 mi | |
| 2007 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 186 | 35.3 mi | |
| 2016 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 172 | 7.9 mi | |
| 2004 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 120 | 33.0 mi | |
| 2014 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 90 | 36.1 mi | |
| 2020 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 79 | 7.8 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 Berlin. 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.