In 2025, fire departments serving Cohasset responded to 151 fire and hazmat incidents — from cooking fires to gas leaks to a single $30K building blaze. Here's the full picture.
Power line down lead by count. Building fires lead by dollars. Together the top five categories make up about 80% of all calls.
Dec peaks. Aug dips. Watch for the typical fall climb starting in October.
891 incidents 2021–2025. Peak year was 2021. $2.0M cumulative property loss.
| Year | Incidents | YoY | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2021 | 271 | — | |
| 2022 | 157 | -42.1% | |
| 2023 | 157 | +0.0% | |
| 2024 | 155 | -1.3% | |
| 2025 | 151 | -2.6% |
For the 3 building fires Cohasset departments responded to in 2025, here's how they were classified once investigators were finished.
NFIRS Area of Origin (AREA_ORIG) for the 84 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 | 20 | 23.8% | |
| 2 | Outside area, other | 16 | 19.0% | |
| 3 | Other | 10 | 11.9% | |
| 4 | Wildland, woods | 5 | 6.0% | |
| 5 | Undetermined | 4 | 4.8% | |
| 6 | Conduit, pipe, utility, or ventilation shaft | 3 | 3.6% | |
| 7 | Wall assembly | 3 | 3.6% | |
| 8 | Open area - outside; included are farmland, field | 3 | 3.6% | |
| 9 | Structural area, other | 2 | 2.4% | |
| 10 | Exterior balcony, unenclosed porch | 2 | 2.4% | |
| 11 | All other areas | 16 | 19.0% |
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 Cohasset mix.
| # | Heat source | Count | Share | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Heat from powered equipment, other | 20 | 23.8% | |
| 2 | Heat source: other | 15 | 17.9% | |
| 3 | Undetermined | 9 | 10.7% | |
| 4 | Arcing | 7 | 8.3% | |
| 5 | Heat from other open flame or smoking materials | 6 | 7.1% | |
| 6 | Cigarette lighter | 6 | 7.1% | |
| 7 | Radiated, conducted heat from operating equipment | 3 | 3.6% | |
| 8 | Hot ember or ash | 3 | 3.6% | |
| 9 | Match | 3 | 3.6% | |
| 10 | Flame/torch used for lighting | 3 | 3.6% | |
| 11 | All other sources | 9 | 10.7% |
Largest single-incident property losses reported by Cohasset departments in 2025. These 6 fires alone account for 100% of the city's annual total.
| # | Property loss | Type | Severity | Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | $30,000 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
| 2 | $20,000 | Passenger vehicle fire | Significant | Investigated |
| 3 | $20,000 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
| 4 | $5,000 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
| 5 | $5,000 | Fire, other | Significant | Investigated |
| 6 | $500 | Outside equipment fire | Significant | Investigated |
Per-capita rates let us compare apples to apples. Cohasset sits above the national average for incidents per resident.
Top 25 wildfires (1992+) in the FPA-FOD ignitions database, scaled by acres. 3,758 acres burned in this 50-mile radius. Each dot is a fire — bigger dots burned more land.
| Year | Cause | Acres | Distance | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2005 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 800 | 45.6 mi | |
| 2008 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 700 | 45.6 mi | |
| 2003 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 300 | 18.7 mi | |
| 2002 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 300 | 45.6 mi | |
| 2014 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 256 | 45.6 mi | |
| 2015 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 250 | 46.2 mi | |
| 2007 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 186 | 28.4 mi | |
| 2016 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 172 | 45.6 mi | |
| 2016 | Natural | 120 | 38.4 mi | |
| 2014 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 90 | 19.4 mi | |
| 2020 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 79 | 45.8 mi | |
| 2018 | Debris and open burning | 58 | 45.8 mi |
Top 2 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 Cohasset. 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.