In 2025, fire departments serving Damariscotta responded to 45 fire and hazmat incidents — from cooking fires to gas leaks to a single $25K building blaze. Here's the full picture.
Vehicle accident, general cleanup lead by count. Building fires lead by dollars. Together the top five categories make up about 73% of all calls.
Jul peaks. Nov dips. Watch for the typical fall climb starting in October.
251 incidents 2021–2025. Peak year was 2024. $586K cumulative property loss.
| Year | Incidents | YoY | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2021 | 40 | — | |
| 2022 | 38 | -5.0% | |
| 2023 | 46 | +21.1% | |
| 2024 | 82 | +78.3% | |
| 2025 | 45 | -45.1% |
For the 2 building fires Damariscotta departments responded to in 2025, here's how they were classified once investigators were finished.
NFIRS Area of Origin (AREA_ORIG) for the 15 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 | Substructure area or space, crawl space | 4 | 26.7% | |
| 2 | Cooking area, kitchen | 2 | 13.3% | |
| 3 | Engine area, running gear, wheel area | 2 | 13.3% | |
| 4 | Exterior stairway, ramp, or fire escape | 1 | 6.7% | |
| 5 | Entrance way, lobby | 1 | 6.7% | |
| 6 | Common room, den, family room, living room, lounge | 1 | 6.7% | |
| 7 | Bedroom - < 5 persons; included are jail or prison | 1 | 6.7% | |
| 8 | Storage room, area, tank, or bin | 1 | 6.7% | |
| 9 | Exterior, exposed surface | 1 | 6.7% | |
| 10 | Open area - outside; included are farmland, field | 1 | 6.7% |
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 Damariscotta mix.
| # | Heat source | Count | Share | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Spark, ember or flame from operating equipment | 5 | 33.3% | |
| 2 | Arcing | 5 | 33.3% | |
| 3 | Radiated, conducted heat from operating equipment | 1 | 6.7% | |
| 4 | Molten, hot material | 1 | 6.7% | |
| 5 | Hot ember or ash | 1 | 6.7% | |
| 6 | Fireworks | 1 | 6.7% | |
| 7 | Cigarette | 1 | 6.7% |
Largest single-incident property losses reported by Damariscotta departments in 2025. These 4 fires alone account for 100% of the city's annual total.
| # | Property loss | Type | Severity | Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | $25,000 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
| 2 | $20,000 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
| 3 | $5,000 | Mobile property (vehicle) fire, other | Significant | Investigated |
| 4 | $200 | Fires in structures other than in a building | Significant | Investigated |
Per-capita rates let us compare apples to apples. Damariscotta sits above the national average for incidents per resident.
Top 25 wildfires (1992+) in the FPA-FOD ignitions database, scaled by acres. 921 acres burned in this 50-mile radius. Each dot is a fire — bigger dots burned more land.
| Year | Cause | Acres | Distance | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2001 | Misuse of fire by a minor | 236 | 47.5 mi | |
| 2001 | Debris and open burning | 77 | 33.3 mi | |
| 2002 | Recreation and ceremony | 57 | 19.3 mi | |
| 2015 | Debris and open burning | 48 | 26.5 mi | |
| 2003 | Debris and open burning | 40 | 43.8 mi | |
| 1995 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 40 | 46.6 mi | |
| 2006 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 39 | 38.9 mi | |
| 2016 | Misuse of fire by a minor | 35 | 38.2 mi | |
| 2011 | Arson/incendiarism | 33 | 45.7 mi | |
| 1999 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 33 | 49.3 mi | |
| 2013 | Arson/incendiarism | 32 | 34.1 mi | |
| 2003 | Railroad operations and maintenance | 31 | 38.5 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 | 04543 | 251 |
Six Maine cities with population within ±25% of Damariscotta. Useful comparison targets — same state, similar size, different fire profile.
1 departments report to NFIRS for incidents in Damariscotta.
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.