In 2025, fire departments serving Cumberland responded to 108 fire and hazmat incidents — from cooking fires to gas leaks to a single $150K building blaze. Here's the full picture.
Cooking fire, confined to container lead by count. Building fires lead by dollars. Together the top five categories make up about 58% of all calls.
Jan peaks. Dec dips. Watch for the typical fall climb starting in October.
587 incidents 2021–2025. Peak year was 2024. $919K cumulative property loss.
| Year | Incidents | YoY | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2021 | 96 | — | |
| 2022 | 106 | +10.4% | |
| 2023 | 108 | +1.9% | |
| 2024 | 169 | +56.5% | |
| 2025 | 108 | -36.1% |
For the 4 building fires Cumberland departments responded to in 2025, here's how they were classified once investigators were finished.
NFIRS Area of Origin (AREA_ORIG) for the 191 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 | 90 | 47.1% | |
| 2 | Outside area, other | 17 | 8.9% | |
| 3 | Open area - outside; included are farmland, field | 12 | 6.3% | |
| 4 | Engine area, running gear, wheel area | 7 | 3.7% | |
| 5 | Undetermined | 7 | 3.7% | |
| 6 | Vehicle storage area; garage, carport | 6 | 3.1% | |
| 7 | Highway, parking lot, street: on or near | 5 | 2.6% | |
| 8 | Common room, den, family room, living room, lounge | 4 | 2.1% | |
| 9 | Wildland, woods | 4 | 2.1% | |
| 10 | Function area, other | 3 | 1.6% | |
| 11 | All other areas | 36 | 18.8% |
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 Cumberland mix.
| # | Heat source | Count | Share | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Radiated, conducted heat from operating equipment | 48 | 25.1% | |
| 2 | Heat from powered equipment, other | 32 | 16.8% | |
| 3 | Undetermined | 30 | 15.7% | |
| 4 | Hot or smoldering object, other | 14 | 7.3% | |
| 5 | Heat source: other | 12 | 6.3% | |
| 6 | Arcing | 12 | 6.3% | |
| 7 | Hot ember or ash | 10 | 5.2% | |
| 8 | Flame/torch used for lighting | 7 | 3.7% | |
| 9 | Spark, ember or flame from operating equipment | 4 | 2.1% | |
| 10 | Heat from direct flame, convection currents | 4 | 2.1% | |
| 11 | All other sources | 18 | 9.4% |
Largest single-incident property losses reported by Cumberland departments in 2025. These 8 fires alone account for 100% of the city's annual total.
| # | Property loss | Type | Severity | Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | $150,000 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
| 2 | $20,000 | Passenger vehicle fire | Significant | Investigated |
| 3 | $2,000 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
| 4 | $500 | Passenger vehicle fire | Significant | Investigated |
| 5 | $500 | Passenger vehicle fire | Significant | Investigated |
| 6 | $100 | Passenger vehicle fire | Significant | Investigated |
| 7 | $1 | Cooking fire, confined to container | Significant | Investigated |
| 8 | $1 | Cooking fire, confined to container | Significant | Investigated |
Per-capita rates let us compare apples to apples. Cumberland sits above the national average for incidents per resident.
Top 25 wildfires (1992+) in the FPA-FOD ignitions database, scaled by acres. 1,316 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 | 34.6 mi | |
| 2001 | Misuse of fire by a minor | 236 | 12.7 mi | |
| 1995 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 60 | 44.2 mi | |
| 2002 | Recreation and ceremony | 57 | 45.8 mi | |
| 2000 | Debris and open burning | 51 | 45.6 mi | |
| 2016 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 50 | 44.8 mi | |
| 2016 | Arson/incendiarism | 42 | 19.1 mi | |
| 2009 | Debris and open burning | 40 | 34.5 mi | |
| 2006 | Debris and open burning | 40 | 48.3 mi | |
| 2003 | Debris and open burning | 40 | 43.4 mi | |
| 2006 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 39 | 27.5 mi | |
| 2020 | Arson/incendiarism | 33 | 25.4 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 Maine cities with population within ±25% of Cumberland. 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.