In 2025, fire departments serving Cambridge responded to 32 fire and hazmat incidents — from cooking fires to gas leaks to a single $20K building blaze. Here's the full picture.
Building fires lead by count. Building fires lead by dollars. Together the top five categories make up about 78% of all calls.
Mar peaks. Jul dips. Watch for the typical fall climb starting in October.
112 incidents 2021–2025. Peak year was 2025. $71K cumulative property loss.
| Year | Incidents | YoY | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2021 | 19 | — | |
| 2022 | 17 | -10.5% | |
| 2023 | 22 | +29.4% | |
| 2024 | 22 | +0.0% | |
| 2025 | 32 | +45.5% |
For the 12 building fires Cambridge departments responded to in 2025, here's how they were classified once investigators were finished.
NFIRS Area of Origin (AREA_ORIG) for the 20 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 | 5 | 25.0% | |
| 2 | Open area - outside; included are farmland, field | 4 | 20.0% | |
| 3 | Chute/container - trash, rubbish, waste | 2 | 10.0% | |
| 4 | Switchgear area, transformer vault | 2 | 10.0% | |
| 5 | Attic: vacant, crawl space above top story, cupola | 2 | 10.0% | |
| 6 | Other | 1 | 5.0% | |
| 7 | Function area, other | 1 | 5.0% | |
| 8 | Vehicle storage area; garage, carport | 1 | 5.0% | |
| 9 | Conduit, pipe, utility, or ventilation shaft | 1 | 5.0% | |
| 10 | Heating room or area, water heater area | 1 | 5.0% |
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 Cambridge mix.
| # | Heat source | Count | Share | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Heat source: other | 3 | 15.0% | |
| 2 | Hot ember or ash | 3 | 15.0% | |
| 3 | Undetermined | 3 | 15.0% | |
| 4 | Arcing | 2 | 10.0% | |
| 5 | Chemical reaction | 2 | 10.0% | |
| 6 | Radiated, conducted heat from operating equipment | 1 | 5.0% | |
| 7 | Hot or smoldering object, other | 1 | 5.0% | |
| 8 | Heat, spark from friction | 1 | 5.0% | |
| 9 | Flame/torch used for lighting | 1 | 5.0% | |
| 10 | Lightning | 1 | 5.0% | |
| 11 | All other sources | 2 | 10.0% |
Largest single-incident property losses reported by Cambridge departments in 2025. These 5 fires alone account for 100% of the city's annual total.
| # | Property loss | Type | Severity | Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | $20,000 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
| 2 | $5,000 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
| 3 | $4,000 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
| 4 | $3,000 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
| 5 | $1,000 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
Per-capita rates let us compare apples to apples. Cambridge sits above the national average for incidents per resident.
Top 25 wildfires (1992+) in the FPA-FOD ignitions database, scaled by acres. 4,364 acres burned in this 50-mile radius. Each dot is a fire — bigger dots burned more land.
| Year | Cause | Acres | Distance | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2017 | Equipment and vehicle use | 700 | 9.2 mi | |
| 2004 | Debris and open burning | 400 | 43.6 mi | |
| 2006 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 346 | 47.8 mi | |
| 2014 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 320 | 47.2 mi | |
| 2003 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 200 | 45.8 mi | |
| 2004 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 175 | 45.6 mi | |
| 2018 | Arson/incendiarism | 175 | 48.4 mi | |
| 2010 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 160 | 32.8 mi | |
| 2007 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 150 | 48.8 mi | |
| 2003 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 150 | 45.9 mi | |
| 2004 | Debris and open burning | 150 | 44.4 mi | |
| 2009 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 120 | 46.7 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 | 50046 | 112 |
Six Iowa cities with population within ±25% of Cambridge. 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.