In 2025, fire departments serving Blackstone responded to 72 fire and hazmat incidents — from cooking fires to gas leaks to a single $25K building blaze. Here's the full picture.
Unauthorized burning lead by count. Building fires lead by dollars. Together the top five categories make up about 51% of all calls.
Jan peaks. Oct dips. Watch for the typical fall climb starting in October.
388 incidents 2021–2025. Peak year was 2024. $449K cumulative property loss. 1 civilian deaths.
| Year | Incidents | YoY | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2021 | 58 | — | |
| 2022 | 63 | +8.6% | |
| 2023 | 75 | +19.0% | |
| 2024 | 120 | +60.0% | |
| 2025 | 72 | -40.0% |
For the 8 building fires Blackstone departments responded to in 2025, here's how they were classified once investigators were finished.
NFIRS Area of Origin (AREA_ORIG) for the 91 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 | 21 | 23.1% | |
| 2 | Undetermined | 15 | 16.5% | |
| 3 | Cooking area, kitchen | 10 | 11.0% | |
| 4 | Open area - outside; included are farmland, field | 10 | 11.0% | |
| 5 | Wildland, woods | 5 | 5.5% | |
| 6 | Vehicle area, other | 4 | 4.4% | |
| 7 | Engine area, running gear, wheel area | 4 | 4.4% | |
| 8 | Common room, den, family room, living room, lounge | 3 | 3.3% | |
| 9 | Laundry area, wash house (laundry) | 3 | 3.3% | |
| 10 | Other | 2 | 2.2% | |
| 11 | All other areas | 14 | 15.4% |
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 Blackstone mix.
| # | Heat source | Count | Share | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Undetermined | 26 | 28.6% | |
| 2 | Hot ember or ash | 13 | 14.3% | |
| 3 | Heat source: other | 12 | 13.2% | |
| 4 | Cigarette lighter | 5 | 5.5% | |
| 5 | Flame/torch used for lighting | 5 | 5.5% | |
| 6 | Heat from powered equipment, other | 4 | 4.4% | |
| 7 | Arcing | 3 | 3.3% | |
| 8 | Hot or smoldering object, other | 3 | 3.3% | |
| 9 | Heat, spark from friction | 3 | 3.3% | |
| 10 | Heat from other open flame or smoking materials | 3 | 3.3% | |
| 11 | All other sources | 14 | 15.4% |
Largest single-incident property losses reported by Blackstone departments in 2025. These 8 fires alone account for 100% of the city's annual total.
| # | Property loss | Type | Severity | Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | $25,000 | Fires in structures other than in a building | Significant | Investigated |
| 2 | $25,000 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
| 3 | $20,000 | Mobile property (vehicle) fire, other | Significant | Investigated |
| 4 | $20,000 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
| 5 | $3,500 | Forest, woods or wildland fire | Significant | Investigated |
| 6 | $1,000 | Passenger vehicle fire | Significant | Investigated |
| 7 | $10 | Brush, or brush and grass mixture fire | Significant | Investigated |
| 8 | $1 | Fuel burner/boiler malfunction, fire confined | Significant | Investigated |
Per-capita rates let us compare apples to apples. Blackstone sits above the national average for incidents per resident.
Top 25 wildfires (1992+) in the FPA-FOD ignitions database, scaled by acres. 3,803 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 | 32.1 mi | |
| 2008 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 700 | 32.1 mi | |
| 2003 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 300 | 24.6 mi | |
| 2002 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 300 | 32.1 mi | |
| 2014 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 256 | 32.0 mi | |
| 2015 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 250 | 32.6 mi | |
| 2007 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 186 | 47.8 mi | |
| 2016 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 172 | 32.1 mi | |
| 2020 | Recreation and ceremony | 94 | 39.1 mi | |
| 2014 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 90 | 43.7 mi | |
| 2020 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 79 | 32.1 mi | |
| 2018 | Debris and open burning | 58 | 30.4 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 Blackstone. 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.