In 2025, fire departments serving Boxford responded to 68 fire and hazmat incidents . Here's the full picture.
Unauthorized burning lead by count. Building fires lead by dollars. Together the top five categories make up about 74% of all calls.
Apr peaks. Dec dips. Watch for the typical fall climb starting in October.
410 incidents 2021–2025. Peak year was 2024. $1.1M cumulative property loss.
| Year | Incidents | YoY | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2021 | 90 | — | |
| 2022 | 62 | -31.1% | |
| 2023 | 80 | +29.0% | |
| 2024 | 110 | +37.5% | |
| 2025 | 68 | -38.2% |
For the 0 building fires Boxford departments responded to in 2025, here's how they were classified once investigators were finished.
NFIRS Area of Origin (AREA_ORIG) for the 79 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 | 20 | 25.3% | |
| 2 | Wildland, woods | 18 | 22.8% | |
| 3 | Engine area, running gear, wheel area | 10 | 12.7% | |
| 4 | Cooking area, kitchen | 5 | 6.3% | |
| 5 | Outside area, other | 5 | 6.3% | |
| 6 | Highway, parking lot, street: on or near | 4 | 5.1% | |
| 7 | Undetermined | 4 | 5.1% | |
| 8 | Other | 2 | 2.5% | |
| 9 | Conduit, pipe, utility, or ventilation shaft | 2 | 2.5% | |
| 10 | Laundry area, wash house (laundry) | 1 | 1.3% | |
| 11 | All other areas | 8 | 10.1% |
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 Boxford mix.
| # | Heat source | Count | Share | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Undetermined | 39 | 49.4% | |
| 2 | Heat from powered equipment, other | 8 | 10.1% | |
| 3 | Hot ember or ash | 7 | 8.9% | |
| 4 | Heat from other open flame or smoking materials | 7 | 8.9% | |
| 5 | Heat source: other | 3 | 3.8% | |
| 6 | Spark, ember or flame from operating equipment | 3 | 3.8% | |
| 7 | Radiated, conducted heat from operating equipment | 3 | 3.8% | |
| 8 | Arcing | 3 | 3.8% | |
| 9 | Flame/torch used for lighting | 3 | 3.8% | |
| 10 | Hot or smoldering object, other | 2 | 2.5% | |
| 11 | All other sources | 1 | 1.3% |
Per-capita rates let us compare apples to apples. Boxford sits above the national average for incidents per resident.
Top 25 wildfires (1992+) in the FPA-FOD ignitions database, scaled by acres. 3,678 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 | 34.1 mi | |
| 2008 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 700 | 34.1 mi | |
| 2003 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 300 | 28.8 mi | |
| 2002 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 300 | 34.1 mi | |
| 2014 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 256 | 34.2 mi | |
| 2015 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 250 | 34.4 mi | |
| 2007 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 186 | 4.3 mi | |
| 2016 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 172 | 34.0 mi | |
| 2014 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 90 | 13.0 mi | |
| 2020 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 79 | 34.3 mi | |
| 2015 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 59 | 47.6 mi | |
| 2018 | Debris and open burning | 58 | 35.6 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 Boxford. 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.