In 2025, fire departments serving Berwick responded to 102 fire and hazmat incidents — from cooking fires to gas leaks to a single $25K 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 59% of all calls.
Jan peaks. Dec dips. Watch for the typical fall climb starting in October.
666 incidents 2021–2025. Peak year was 2024. $1.1M cumulative property loss. 1 civilian deaths.
| Year | Incidents | YoY | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2021 | 115 | — | |
| 2022 | 140 | +21.7% | |
| 2023 | 120 | -14.3% | |
| 2024 | 189 | +57.5% | |
| 2025 | 102 | -46.0% |
For the 18 building fires Berwick departments responded to in 2025, here's how they were classified once investigators were finished.
NFIRS Area of Origin (AREA_ORIG) for the 119 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 | Outside area, other | 27 | 22.7% | |
| 2 | Wildland, woods | 11 | 9.2% | |
| 3 | Cooking area, kitchen | 9 | 7.6% | |
| 4 | Other | 8 | 6.7% | |
| 5 | Vehicle area, other | 7 | 5.9% | |
| 6 | Engine area, running gear, wheel area | 7 | 5.9% | |
| 7 | Open area - outside; included are farmland, field | 5 | 4.2% | |
| 8 | Bathroom, checkroom, lavatory, locker room | 4 | 3.4% | |
| 9 | Chute/container - trash, rubbish, waste | 4 | 3.4% | |
| 10 | Storage: supplies or tools; dead storage | 3 | 2.5% | |
| 11 | All other areas | 34 | 28.6% |
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 Berwick mix.
| # | Heat source | Count | Share | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Undetermined | 35 | 29.4% | |
| 2 | Arcing | 14 | 11.8% | |
| 3 | Radiated, conducted heat from operating equipment | 11 | 9.2% | |
| 4 | Heat from powered equipment, other | 10 | 8.4% | |
| 5 | Hot ember or ash | 8 | 6.7% | |
| 6 | Heat source: other | 7 | 5.9% | |
| 7 | Cigarette | 6 | 5.0% | |
| 8 | Spark, ember or flame from operating equipment | 5 | 4.2% | |
| 9 | Hot or smoldering object, other | 5 | 4.2% | |
| 10 | Match | 5 | 4.2% | |
| 11 | All other sources | 13 | 10.9% |
Largest single-incident property losses reported by Berwick departments in 2025. These 8 fires alone account for 95% of the city's annual total.
| # | Property loss | Type | Severity | Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | $25,000 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
| 2 | $15,000 | Passenger vehicle fire | Significant | Investigated |
| 3 | $10,000 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
| 4 | $10,000 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
| 5 | $8,400 | Passenger vehicle fire | Significant | Investigated |
| 6 | $5,000 | Off-road vehicle or heavy equipment fire | Significant | Investigated |
| 7 | $4,000 | Passenger vehicle fire | Significant | Investigated |
| 8 | $3,500 | Passenger vehicle fire | Significant | Investigated |
Per-capita rates let us compare apples to apples. Berwick sits above the national average for incidents per resident.
Top 25 wildfires (1992+) in the FPA-FOD ignitions database, scaled by acres. 1,672 acres burned in this 50-mile radius. Each dot is a fire — bigger dots burned more land.
| Year | Cause | Acres | Distance | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2018 | Debris and open burning | 314 | 10.8 mi | |
| 2015 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 275 | 39.1 mi | |
| 2001 | Misuse of fire by a minor | 236 | 37.0 mi | |
| 2007 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 186 | 47.9 mi | |
| 2015 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 92 | 36.9 mi | |
| 2015 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 59 | 38.9 mi | |
| 2019 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 54 | 48.4 mi | |
| 2016 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 50 | 21.2 mi | |
| 2016 | Arson/incendiarism | 42 | 28.6 mi | |
| 2016 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 41 | 29.0 mi | |
| 2009 | Debris and open burning | 40 | 11.4 mi | |
| 2020 | Arson/incendiarism | 33 | 22.0 mi |
Top 5 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 Berwick. Useful comparison targets — same state, similar size, different fire profile.
1 departments report to NFIRS for incidents in Berwick.
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.