In 2025, fire departments serving Buckland responded to 27 fire and hazmat incidents — from cooking fires to gas leaks to a single $5K building blaze. Here's the full picture.
Power line down lead by count. Building fires lead by dollars. Together the top five categories make up about 89% of all calls.
Feb peaks. Jan dips. Watch for the typical fall climb starting in October.
166 incidents 2021–2025. Peak year was 2023. $319K cumulative property loss.
| Year | Incidents | YoY | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2021 | 37 | — | |
| 2022* | 16 | — | |
| 2023 | 58 | — | |
| 2024 | 28 | -51.7% | |
| 2025 | 27 | -3.6% |
* Well below Buckland'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 0 building fires Buckland departments responded to in 2025, here's how they were classified once investigators were finished.
NFIRS Area of Origin (AREA_ORIG) for the 19 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 | 4 | 21.1% | |
| 2 | Engine area, running gear, wheel area | 4 | 21.1% | |
| 3 | Wildland, woods | 2 | 10.5% | |
| 4 | Common room, den, family room, living room, lounge | 1 | 5.3% | |
| 5 | Bathroom, checkroom, lavatory, locker room | 1 | 5.3% | |
| 6 | Storage area, other | 1 | 5.3% | |
| 7 | Substructure area or space, crawl space | 1 | 5.3% | |
| 8 | Ceiling & floor assembly, crawl space b/t stories | 1 | 5.3% | |
| 9 | Outside area, other | 1 | 5.3% | |
| 10 | Railroad right of way: on or near | 1 | 5.3% | |
| 11 | All other areas | 2 | 10.5% |
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 Buckland mix.
| # | Heat source | Count | Share | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Heat source: other | 9 | 47.4% | |
| 2 | Arcing | 2 | 10.5% | |
| 3 | Flame/torch used for lighting | 2 | 10.5% | |
| 4 | Heat from powered equipment, other | 1 | 5.3% | |
| 5 | Cigarette | 1 | 5.3% | |
| 6 | Cigarette lighter | 1 | 5.3% | |
| 7 | Chemical reaction | 1 | 5.3% | |
| 8 | Other static discharge | 1 | 5.3% | |
| 9 | Radiated heat from another fire | 1 | 5.3% |
Largest single-incident property losses reported by Buckland departments in 2025. These 2 fires alone account for 100% of the city's annual total.
| # | Property loss | Type | Severity | Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | $4,800 | Passenger vehicle fire | Significant | Investigated |
| 2 | $3,000 | Passenger vehicle fire | Significant | Investigated |
Per-capita rates let us compare apples to apples. Buckland sits above the national average for incidents per resident.
Top 25 wildfires (1992+) in the FPA-FOD ignitions database, scaled by acres. 2,102 acres burned in this 50-mile radius. Each dot is a fire — bigger dots burned more land.
| Year | Cause | Acres | Distance | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2010 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 321 | 28.3 mi | |
| 2015 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 272 | 20.4 mi | |
| 2001 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 250 | 23.5 mi | |
| 2016 | Arson/incendiarism | 190 | 48.4 mi | |
| 2008 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 130 | 24.4 mi | |
| 2004 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 120 | 29.4 mi | |
| 1995 | Debris and open burning | 75 | 35.4 mi | |
| 2020 | Natural | 55 | 16.5 mi | |
| 2008 | Debris and open burning | 55 | 43.4 mi | |
| 2016 | Recreation and ceremony | 51 | 29.0 mi | |
| 2004 | Railroad operations and maintenance | 50 | 47.2 mi | |
| 1994 | Railroad operations and maintenance | 50 | 47.8 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 Massachusetts cities with population within ±25% of Buckland. 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.