In 2025, fire departments serving Boston responded to 31 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 74% of all calls.
Jun peaks. Mar dips. Watch for the typical fall climb starting in October.
240 incidents 2021–2025. Peak year was 2023.
| Year | Incidents | YoY | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2021 | 43 | — | |
| 2022 | 52 | +20.9% | |
| 2023 | 58 | +11.5% | |
| 2024 | 56 | -3.4% | |
| 2025 | 31 | -44.6% |
For the 8 building fires Boston departments responded to in 2025, here's how they were classified once investigators were finished.
NFIRS Area of Origin (AREA_ORIG) for the 9 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 | Other | 2 | 22.2% | |
| 2 | Vehicle storage area; garage, carport | 2 | 22.2% | |
| 3 | Open area - outside; included are farmland, field | 2 | 22.2% | |
| 4 | Common room, den, family room, living room, lounge | 1 | 11.1% | |
| 5 | Laundry area, wash house (laundry) | 1 | 11.1% | |
| 6 | Cargo/trunk area - all vehicles | 1 | 11.1% |
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 Boston mix.
| # | Heat source | Count | Share | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Undetermined | 3 | 33.3% | |
| 2 | Arcing | 2 | 22.2% | |
| 3 | Hot or smoldering object, other | 1 | 11.1% | |
| 4 | Heat from other open flame or smoking materials | 1 | 11.1% | |
| 5 | Chemical reaction | 1 | 11.1% | |
| 6 | Flying brand, ember, spark | 1 | 11.1% |
Per-capita rates let us compare apples to apples. Boston sits below the national average for incidents per resident.
Top 25 wildfires (1992+) in the FPA-FOD ignitions database, scaled by acres. 724 acres burned in this 50-mile radius. Each dot is a fire — bigger dots burned more land.
| Year | Cause | Acres | Distance | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1997 | Debris and open burning | 92 | 40.6 mi | |
| 2020 | Debris and open burning | 72 | 37.0 mi | |
| 2006 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 50 | 37.4 mi | |
| 2020 | Equipment and vehicle use | 48 | 48.4 mi | |
| 1993 | Debris and open burning | 45 | 47.6 mi | |
| 1994 | Debris and open burning | 44 | 32.8 mi | |
| 2009 | Debris and open burning | 36 | 49.7 mi | |
| 2014 | Arson/incendiarism | 31 | 45.5 mi | |
| 1999 | Debris and open burning | 30 | 40.9 mi | |
| 1995 | Smoking | 25 | 18.2 mi | |
| 2006 | Debris and open burning | 23 | 48.8 mi | |
| 2015 | Arson/incendiarism | 23 | 36.0 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 New York cities with population within ±25% of Boston. Useful comparison targets — same state, similar size, different fire profile.
2 departments report to NFIRS for incidents in Boston.
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.