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2025 Annual Fire Report

Fires in Clinton, Massachusetts

In 2025, fire departments serving Clinton responded to 17 fire and hazmat incidents . Here's the full picture.

Updated Sep 27, 2026 Grade A Peak yr 2021 Worcester County 15,347 residents 0 reporting departments 305 5-yr

Incomplete 2025 data. Clinton's departments reported 17 incidents to NFIRS for 2025, against about 61 in a typical year, so 2025 figures on this page undercount. The 2021–2025 totals are the better guide.

Total incidents
17
Not comparable with 2024 (incomplete reporting)
Building fires
16
Residential 63% Other 37%
Property loss
$0
$0 structure · $0 contents
Deaths & injuries
0 / 0
0 civilian deaths · 0 civ injuries · 0 firefighter injuries
01 The mix

What kinds of fires happen here?

Building fires lead by count. Building fires lead by dollars. Together the top five categories make up about 100% of all calls.

17
Total Incidents
Building fires 16 94.1%
Chemical spill or leak 1 5.9%
02 Seasonality

When do fires happen?

Apr peaks. Jan dips. Watch for the typical fall climb starting in October.

Jan 0
Feb 0
Mar 3
Apr 7
May 0
Jun 7
Jul 0
Aug 0
Sep 0
Oct 0
Nov 0
Dec 0
Fewer
More
2b Five-year trend

Year over year in Clinton

305 incidents 2021–2025. Peak year was 2021. $476K cumulative property loss.

YearIncidentsYoY 
2021 114 —
2022 88 -22.8%
2023 78 -11.4%
2024* 8 —
2025* 17 —

* Well below Clinton'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.

03 Cause of ignition

What sparks building fires?

For the 16 building fires Clinton departments responded to in 2025, here's how they were classified once investigators were finished.

3b Where fires start

Where do fires start in Clinton?

NFIRS Area of Origin (AREA_ORIG) for the 38 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 originCountShare 
1 Cooking area, kitchen 6 15.8%
2 Engine area, running gear, wheel area 4 10.5%
3 Outside area, other 4 10.5%
4 Undetermined 4 10.5%
5 Exterior stairway, ramp, or fire escape 2 5.3%
6 Ceiling & floor assembly, crawl space b/t stories 2 5.3%
7 Vehicle area, other 2 5.3%
8 Egress/exit, other 1 2.6%
9 Bedroom - < 5 persons; included are jail or prison 1 2.6%
10 Bathroom, checkroom, lavatory, locker room 1 2.6%
11 All other areas 11 28.9%
3c What ignited it

What actually ignited the fire?

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 Clinton mix.

#Heat sourceCountShare 
1 Undetermined 8 21.1%
2 Heat from powered equipment, other 5 13.2%
3 Hot or smoldering object, other 5 13.2%
4 Arcing 4 10.5%
5 Heat source: other 3 7.9%
6 Hot ember or ash 2 5.3%
7 Cigarette 2 5.3%
8 Heat spread from another fire, other 2 5.3%
9 Spark, ember or flame from operating equipment 1 2.6%
10 Radiated, conducted heat from operating equipment 1 2.6%
11 All other sources 5 13.2%
05 How Clinton compares

Clinton vs Massachusetts vs the nation

Per-capita rates let us compare apples to apples. Clinton sits below the national average for incidents per resident.

1.11
Incidents per 1,000 residents
Clinton
1.11
MA avg
8.75
US avg
7.48
1.04
Building fires per 1,000 residents
Clinton
1.04
MA avg
0.57
US avg
0.85
0
Civilian fire deaths per million
Clinton
0
MA avg
2.8
US avg
5.9
5c Wildfires nearby

Wildfires within 50 mi of Clinton

Top 25 wildfires (1992+) in the FPA-FOD ignitions database, scaled by acres. 4,236 acres burned in this 50-mile radius. Each dot is a fire — bigger dots burned more land.

50 mi radius
YearCauseAcresDistance 
2005 Missing data/not specified/undetermined 800 6.4 mi
2008 Missing data/not specified/undetermined 700 6.4 mi
2003 Missing data/not specified/undetermined 300 27.5 mi
2002 Missing data/not specified/undetermined 300 6.4 mi
2014 Missing data/not specified/undetermined 256 6.3 mi
2001 Missing data/not specified/undetermined 250 44.6 mi
2015 Missing data/not specified/undetermined 250 6.6 mi
2016 Arson/incendiarism 190 48.8 mi
2007 Missing data/not specified/undetermined 186 37.0 mi
2016 Missing data/not specified/undetermined 172 6.5 mi
2004 Missing data/not specified/undetermined 120 29.7 mi
2014 Missing data/not specified/undetermined 90 38.4 mi
5d Top ZIPs

Where in Clinton do fires concentrate?

Top 2 ZIP codes by NFIRS incident count across 2021–2025. Each ZIP has its own fire profile — dive in for neighborhood-level context.

#ZIP5-yr incidents 
1 01510 304
2 01740 1
5e Peer cities

Cities similar to Clinton

Six Massachusetts cities with population within ±25% of Clinton. Useful comparison targets — same state, similar size, different fire profile.

07 Stay prepared

Before the next Red Flag day.

A 30-minute weekend can cut your home's exposure substantially. These four checklists are a good starting point.

About this data

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.