In 2025, fire departments serving Chilmark responded to 85 fire and hazmat incidents — from cooking fires to gas leaks to a single $10K building blaze. Here's the full picture.
Authorized controlled burning lead by count. Building fires lead by dollars. Together the top five categories make up about 84% of all calls.
Apr peaks. Jun dips. Watch for the typical fall climb starting in October.
532 incidents 2021–2025. Peak year was 2022. $63K cumulative property loss.
| Year | Incidents | YoY | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2021 | 105 | — | |
| 2022 | 120 | +14.3% | |
| 2023 | 111 | -7.5% | |
| 2024 | 111 | +0.0% | |
| 2025 | 85 | -23.4% |
For the 0 building fires Chilmark departments responded to in 2025, here's how they were classified once investigators were finished.
NFIRS Area of Origin (AREA_ORIG) for the 14 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 | Outside area, other | 4 | 28.6% | |
| 2 | Vehicle area, other | 2 | 14.3% | |
| 3 | Open area - outside; included are farmland, field | 2 | 14.3% | |
| 4 | Other | 1 | 7.1% | |
| 5 | Equipment or service area, other | 1 | 7.1% | |
| 6 | Cargo/trunk area - all vehicles | 1 | 7.1% | |
| 7 | Courtyard, patio, porch, terrace | 1 | 7.1% | |
| 8 | Wildland, woods | 1 | 7.1% | |
| 9 | Undetermined | 1 | 7.1% |
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 Chilmark mix.
| # | Heat source | Count | Share | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Undetermined | 4 | 28.6% | |
| 2 | Hot or smoldering object, other | 3 | 21.4% | |
| 3 | Hot ember or ash | 3 | 21.4% | |
| 4 | Heat from powered equipment, other | 2 | 14.3% | |
| 5 | Spark, ember or flame from operating equipment | 1 | 7.1% | |
| 6 | Flame/torch used for lighting | 1 | 7.1% |
Largest single-incident property losses reported by Chilmark departments in 2025. These 1 fires alone account for 100% of the city's annual total.
| # | Property loss | Type | Severity | Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | $10,000 | Passenger vehicle fire | Significant | Investigated |
Per-capita rates let us compare apples to apples. Chilmark sits above the national average for incidents per resident.
Top 18 wildfires (1992+) in the FPA-FOD ignitions database, scaled by acres. 404 acres burned in this 50-mile radius. Each dot is a fire — bigger dots burned more land.
| Year | Cause | Acres | Distance | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2016 | Natural | 120 | 27.9 mi | |
| 2016 | Debris and open burning | 55 | 37.8 mi | |
| 2017 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 29 | 18.6 mi | |
| 1994 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 25 | 47.7 mi | |
| 2016 | Equipment and vehicle use | 20 | 32.0 mi | |
| 2020 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 16 | 47.7 mi | |
| 2015 | Recreation and ceremony | 15 | 27.8 mi | |
| 2017 | Misuse of fire by a minor | 15 | 39.6 mi | |
| 2003 | Arson/incendiarism | 13 | 31.0 mi | |
| 2015 | Recreation and ceremony | 13 | 28.4 mi | |
| 2006 | Arson/incendiarism | 12 | 43.8 mi | |
| 2017 | Arson/incendiarism | 11 | 30.5 mi |
Top 3 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 Chilmark. 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.