In 2025, fire departments serving Cambridge responded to 78 fire and hazmat incidents — from cooking fires to gas leaks to a single $500K building blaze. Here's the full picture.
Gas leak (natural gas or LPG) lead by count. Building fires lead by dollars. Together the top five categories make up about 83% of all calls.
May peaks. Apr dips. Watch for the typical fall climb starting in October.
419 incidents 2021–2025. Peak year was 2024. $2.6M cumulative property loss.
| Year | Incidents | YoY | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2021 | 84 | — | |
| 2022 | 85 | +1.2% | |
| 2023 | 74 | -12.9% | |
| 2024 | 98 | +32.4% | |
| 2025 | 78 | -20.4% |
For the 3 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 71 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 | Undetermined | 18 | 25.4% | |
| 2 | Engine area, running gear, wheel area | 14 | 19.7% | |
| 3 | Cargo/trunk area - all vehicles | 6 | 8.5% | |
| 4 | Vehicle storage area; garage, carport | 5 | 7.0% | |
| 5 | Cooking area, kitchen | 4 | 5.6% | |
| 6 | Exterior balcony, unenclosed porch | 3 | 4.2% | |
| 7 | Common room, den, family room, living room, lounge | 2 | 2.8% | |
| 8 | Closet | 2 | 2.8% | |
| 9 | Equipment or service area, other | 2 | 2.8% | |
| 10 | Vehicle area, other | 2 | 2.8% | |
| 11 | All other areas | 13 | 18.3% |
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 | Undetermined | 39 | 54.9% | |
| 2 | Spark, ember or flame from operating equipment | 8 | 11.3% | |
| 3 | Radiated, conducted heat from operating equipment | 5 | 7.0% | |
| 4 | Heat from powered equipment, other | 4 | 5.6% | |
| 5 | Arcing | 3 | 4.2% | |
| 6 | Hot or smoldering object, other | 2 | 2.8% | |
| 7 | Cigarette lighter | 2 | 2.8% | |
| 8 | Heat from direct flame, convection currents | 2 | 2.8% | |
| 9 | Heat source: other | 1 | 1.4% | |
| 10 | Molten, hot material | 1 | 1.4% | |
| 11 | All other sources | 4 | 5.6% |
Largest single-incident property losses reported by Cambridge departments in 2025. These 7 fires alone account for 100% of the city's annual total.
| # | Property loss | Type | Severity | Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | $500,000 | Passenger vehicle fire | Major | Investigated |
| 2 | $75,000 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
| 3 | $5,000 | Passenger vehicle fire | Significant | Investigated |
| 4 | $5,000 | Passenger vehicle fire | Significant | Investigated |
| 5 | $5,000 | Passenger vehicle fire | Significant | Investigated |
| 6 | $2,500 | Road freight or transport vehicle fire | Significant | Investigated |
| 7 | $500 | Fires in structures other than in a building | 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. 27,624 acres burned in this 50-mile radius. Each dot is a fire — bigger dots burned more land.
| Year | Cause | Acres | Distance | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | Debris and open burning | 8,513 | 17.8 mi | |
| 2009 | Arson/incendiarism | 2,550 | 19.7 mi | |
| 1992 | Debris and open burning | 1,737 | 42.4 mi | |
| 1996 | Recreation and ceremony | 1,460 | 34.1 mi | |
| 2000 | Debris and open burning | 1,350 | 48.1 mi | |
| 1996 | Debris and open burning | 1,299 | 22.3 mi | |
| 2003 | Arson/incendiarism | 1,250 | 43.2 mi | |
| 2004 | Railroad operations and maintenance | 835 | 17.4 mi | |
| 2004 | Debris and open burning | 710 | 42.0 mi | |
| 1999 | Equipment and vehicle use | 700 | 47.0 mi | |
| 1993 | Arson/incendiarism | 680 | 41.7 mi | |
| 2013 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 656 | 35.3 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 | 55008 | 419 |
Six Minnesota 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.