In 2025, fire departments serving Dennis responded to 42 fire and hazmat incidents — from cooking fires to gas leaks to a single $2K building blaze. Here's the full picture.
Brush, or brush and grass mixture fire lead by count. Building fires lead by dollars. Together the top five categories make up about 64% of all calls.
Sep peaks. Feb dips. Watch for the typical fall climb starting in October.
348 incidents 2021–2025. Peak year was 2022. $853K cumulative property loss.
| Year | Incidents | YoY | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2021 | 90 | — | |
| 2022 | 91 | +1.1% | |
| 2023 | 49 | -46.2% | |
| 2024 | 76 | +55.1% | |
| 2025 | 42 | -44.7% |
For the 0 building fires Dennis departments responded to in 2025, here's how they were classified once investigators were finished.
NFIRS Area of Origin (AREA_ORIG) for the 42 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 | 10 | 23.8% | |
| 2 | Undetermined | 6 | 14.3% | |
| 3 | Open area - outside; included are farmland, field | 5 | 11.9% | |
| 4 | Wildland, woods | 4 | 9.5% | |
| 5 | Other | 2 | 4.8% | |
| 6 | Substructure area or space, crawl space | 2 | 4.8% | |
| 7 | Engine area, running gear, wheel area | 2 | 4.8% | |
| 8 | Highway, parking lot, street: on or near | 2 | 4.8% | |
| 9 | Common room, den, family room, living room, lounge | 1 | 2.4% | |
| 10 | Storage area, other | 1 | 2.4% | |
| 11 | All other areas | 7 | 16.7% |
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 Dennis mix.
| # | Heat source | Count | Share | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Undetermined | 21 | 50.0% | |
| 2 | Heat source: other | 5 | 11.9% | |
| 3 | Arcing | 3 | 7.1% | |
| 4 | Heat from powered equipment, other | 2 | 4.8% | |
| 5 | Spark, ember or flame from operating equipment | 2 | 4.8% | |
| 6 | Match | 2 | 4.8% | |
| 7 | Hot ember or ash | 1 | 2.4% | |
| 8 | Heat from other open flame or smoking materials | 1 | 2.4% | |
| 9 | Flame/torch used for lighting | 1 | 2.4% | |
| 10 | Chemical reaction | 1 | 2.4% | |
| 11 | All other sources | 3 | 7.1% |
Largest single-incident property losses reported by Dennis departments in 2025. These 1 fires alone account for 100% of the city's annual total.
| # | Property loss | Type | Severity | Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | $2,000 | Outside equipment fire | Significant | Investigated |
Per-capita rates let us compare apples to apples. Dennis sits below the national average for incidents per resident.
Top 12 wildfires (1992+) in the FPA-FOD ignitions database, scaled by acres. 321 acres burned in this 50-mile radius. Each dot is a fire — bigger dots burned more land.
| Year | Cause | Acres | Distance | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2016 | Natural | 120 | 18.6 mi | |
| 2016 | Debris and open burning | 55 | 40.9 mi | |
| 2017 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 29 | 20.2 mi | |
| 2016 | Equipment and vehicle use | 20 | 47.6 mi | |
| 2015 | Recreation and ceremony | 15 | 15.6 mi | |
| 2017 | Misuse of fire by a minor | 15 | 42.8 mi | |
| 2003 | Arson/incendiarism | 13 | 20.5 mi | |
| 2015 | Recreation and ceremony | 13 | 15.4 mi | |
| 2017 | Arson/incendiarism | 11 | 9.6 mi | |
| 2004 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 10 | 23.6 mi | |
| 2004 | Equipment and vehicle use | 10 | 21.1 mi | |
| 2015 | Recreation and ceremony | 10 | 11.1 mi |
Top 5 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 Dennis. 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.