In 2025, fire departments serving Bristol responded to 41 fire and hazmat incidents . Here's the full picture.
Biological hazard, confirmed or suspected lead by count. Building fires lead by dollars. Together the top five categories make up about 59% of all calls.
Nov peaks. Mar dips. Watch for the typical fall climb starting in October.
213 incidents 2021–2025. Peak year was 2022. $308K cumulative property loss.
| Year | Incidents | YoY | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2021* | 12 | — | |
| 2022 | 60 | — | |
| 2023 | 60 | +0.0% | |
| 2024 | 40 | -33.3% | |
| 2025 | 41 | +2.5% |
* Well below Bristol's usual volume. That almost always means one or more departments didn't submit a full year to NFIRS, not that fires dropped, so no year-over-year change is shown for it.
For the 2 building fires Bristol departments responded to in 2025, here's how they were classified once investigators were finished.
NFIRS Area of Origin (AREA_ORIG) for the 10 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 | Common room, den, family room, living room, lounge | 2 | 20.0% | |
| 2 | Wall surface: exterior | 2 | 20.0% | |
| 3 | Undetermined | 2 | 20.0% | |
| 4 | Dining room, cafeteria bar area, beverage service | 1 | 10.0% | |
| 5 | Cooking area, kitchen | 1 | 10.0% | |
| 6 | Closet | 1 | 10.0% | |
| 7 | Heating room or area, water heater area | 1 | 10.0% |
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 Bristol mix.
| # | Heat source | Count | Share | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Undetermined | 3 | 30.0% | |
| 2 | Arcing | 2 | 20.0% | |
| 3 | Spark, ember or flame from operating equipment | 1 | 10.0% | |
| 4 | Radiated, conducted heat from operating equipment | 1 | 10.0% | |
| 5 | Molten, hot material | 1 | 10.0% | |
| 6 | Cigarette | 1 | 10.0% | |
| 7 | Cigarette lighter | 1 | 10.0% |
Per-capita rates let us compare apples to apples. Bristol sits above the national average for incidents per resident.
Top 25 wildfires (1992+) in the FPA-FOD ignitions database, scaled by acres. 860 acres burned in this 50-mile radius. Each dot is a fire — bigger dots burned more land.
| Year | Cause | Acres | Distance | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2001 | Misuse of fire by a minor | 236 | 43.3 mi | |
| 2001 | Debris and open burning | 77 | 38.6 mi | |
| 2002 | Recreation and ceremony | 57 | 25.8 mi | |
| 2015 | Debris and open burning | 48 | 33.1 mi | |
| 2003 | Debris and open burning | 40 | 48.2 mi | |
| 2006 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 39 | 41.1 mi | |
| 2016 | Misuse of fire by a minor | 35 | 44.2 mi | |
| 2011 | Arson/incendiarism | 33 | 49.1 mi | |
| 2013 | Arson/incendiarism | 32 | 35.9 mi | |
| 2003 | Railroad operations and maintenance | 31 | 37.5 mi | |
| 1992 | Debris and open burning | 29 | 34.0 mi | |
| 2006 | Debris and open burning | 17 | 41.1 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 Bristol. 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.