In 2025, fire departments serving Brownfield responded to 68 fire and hazmat incidents — from cooking fires to gas leaks to a single $325K building blaze. Here's the full picture.
Vehicle accident, general cleanup lead by count. Building fires lead by dollars. Together the top five categories make up about 75% of all calls.
Feb peaks. Dec dips. Watch for the typical fall climb starting in October.
295 incidents 2021–2025. Peak year was 2022. $1.0M cumulative property loss.
| Year | Incidents | YoY | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2021* | 29 | — | |
| 2022 | 81 | — | |
| 2023 | 60 | -25.9% | |
| 2024 | 57 | -5.0% | |
| 2025 | 68 | +19.3% |
* Well below Brownfield'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 9 building fires Brownfield departments responded to in 2025, here's how they were classified once investigators were finished.
NFIRS Area of Origin (AREA_ORIG) for the 33 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 | Engine area, running gear, wheel area | 7 | 21.2% | |
| 2 | Wildland, woods | 6 | 18.2% | |
| 3 | Duct: hvac, cable, exhaust, heating, or AC | 5 | 15.2% | |
| 4 | Wall assembly | 3 | 9.1% | |
| 5 | Cooking area, kitchen | 2 | 6.1% | |
| 6 | Storage: supplies or tools; dead storage | 2 | 6.1% | |
| 7 | Open area - outside; included are farmland, field | 2 | 6.1% | |
| 8 | Dining room, cafeteria bar area, beverage service | 1 | 3.0% | |
| 9 | Bathroom, checkroom, lavatory, locker room | 1 | 3.0% | |
| 10 | Storage room, area, tank, or bin | 1 | 3.0% | |
| 11 | All other areas | 3 | 9.1% |
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 Brownfield mix.
| # | Heat source | Count | Share | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Hot ember or ash | 8 | 24.2% | |
| 2 | Undetermined | 8 | 24.2% | |
| 3 | Arcing | 3 | 9.1% | |
| 4 | Chemical reaction | 3 | 9.1% | |
| 5 | Radiated, conducted heat from operating equipment | 2 | 6.1% | |
| 6 | Flame/torch used for lighting | 2 | 6.1% | |
| 7 | Lightning | 2 | 6.1% | |
| 8 | Spark, ember or flame from operating equipment | 1 | 3.0% | |
| 9 | Heat, spark from friction | 1 | 3.0% | |
| 10 | Fireworks | 1 | 3.0% | |
| 11 | All other sources | 2 | 6.1% |
Largest single-incident property losses reported by Brownfield departments in 2025. These 4 fires alone account for 100% of the city's annual total.
| # | Property loss | Type | Severity | Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | $325,000 | Building fires | Major | Investigated |
| 2 | $112,856 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
| 3 | $2,500 | Passenger vehicle fire | Significant | Investigated |
| 4 | $500 | Camper or recreational vehicle (RV) fire | Significant | Investigated |
Per-capita rates let us compare apples to apples. Brownfield sits above the national average for incidents per resident.
Top 25 wildfires (1992+) in the FPA-FOD ignitions database, scaled by acres. 2,177 acres burned in this 50-mile radius. Each dot is a fire — bigger dots burned more land.
| Year | Cause | Acres | Distance | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2016 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 329 | 16.8 mi | |
| 2018 | Debris and open burning | 314 | 39.6 mi | |
| 2015 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 275 | 19.6 mi | |
| 2001 | Misuse of fire by a minor | 236 | 40.4 mi | |
| 2004 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 139 | 16.9 mi | |
| 2015 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 92 | 46.0 mi | |
| 2017 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 72 | 43.7 mi | |
| 1992 | Arson/incendiarism | 64 | 41.9 mi | |
| 1995 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 60 | 14.7 mi | |
| 2008 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 54 | 46.7 mi | |
| 2000 | Debris and open burning | 51 | 27.0 mi | |
| 2016 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 50 | 27.8 mi |
Top 1 ZIP codes by NFIRS incident count across 2021–2025. Each ZIP has its own fire profile — dive in for neighborhood-level context.
| # | ZIP | 5-yr incidents | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 04010 | 295 |
Six Maine cities with population within ±25% of Brownfield. 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.