In 2025, fire departments serving Cape Elizabeth responded to 54 fire and hazmat incidents . Here's the full picture.
Power line down lead by count. Building fires lead by dollars. Together the top five categories make up about 76% of all calls.
Apr peaks. Dec dips. Watch for the typical fall climb starting in October.
330 incidents 2021–2025. Peak year was 2024. $55K cumulative property loss.
| Year | Incidents | YoY | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2021 | 53 | — | |
| 2022 | 43 | -18.9% | |
| 2023 | 75 | +74.4% | |
| 2024 | 105 | +40.0% | |
| 2025 | 54 | -48.6% |
For the 0 building fires Cape Elizabeth departments responded to in 2025, here's how they were classified once investigators were finished.
NFIRS Area of Origin (AREA_ORIG) for the 13 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 | Cooking area, kitchen | 2 | 15.4% | |
| 2 | Vehicle storage area; garage, carport | 2 | 15.4% | |
| 3 | Exterior balcony, unenclosed porch | 2 | 15.4% | |
| 4 | Open area - outside; included are farmland, field | 2 | 15.4% | |
| 5 | Common room, den, family room, living room, lounge | 1 | 7.7% | |
| 6 | Equipment or service area, other | 1 | 7.7% | |
| 7 | Cargo/trunk area - all vehicles | 1 | 7.7% | |
| 8 | Engine area, running gear, wheel area | 1 | 7.7% | |
| 9 | Outside area, other | 1 | 7.7% |
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 Cape Elizabeth mix.
| # | Heat source | Count | Share | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Radiated, conducted heat from operating equipment | 4 | 30.8% | |
| 2 | Heat from direct flame, convection currents | 3 | 23.1% | |
| 3 | Hot ember or ash | 2 | 15.4% | |
| 4 | Heat from powered equipment, other | 1 | 7.7% | |
| 5 | Candle | 1 | 7.7% | |
| 6 | Chemical reaction | 1 | 7.7% | |
| 7 | Undetermined | 1 | 7.7% |
Per-capita rates let us compare apples to apples. Cape Elizabeth sits below the national average for incidents per resident.
Top 25 wildfires (1992+) in the FPA-FOD ignitions database, scaled by acres. 1,082 acres burned in this 50-mile radius. Each dot is a fire — bigger dots burned more land.
| Year | Cause | Acres | Distance | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2018 | Debris and open burning | 314 | 25.5 mi | |
| 2001 | Misuse of fire by a minor | 236 | 1.4 mi | |
| 2016 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 50 | 42.7 mi | |
| 2016 | Arson/incendiarism | 42 | 7.7 mi | |
| 2009 | Debris and open burning | 40 | 25.0 mi | |
| 2006 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 39 | 41.6 mi | |
| 2020 | Arson/incendiarism | 33 | 14.5 mi | |
| 2013 | Arson/incendiarism | 32 | 37.4 mi | |
| 2003 | Railroad operations and maintenance | 31 | 23.4 mi | |
| 2016 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 30 | 48.7 mi | |
| 1992 | Debris and open burning | 29 | 40.5 mi | |
| 2007 | Smoking | 18 | 33.9 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 | 04107 | 330 |
Six Maine cities with population within ±25% of Cape Elizabeth. 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.