In 2025, fire departments serving Douglas responded to 66 fire and hazmat incidents — from cooking fires to gas leaks to a single $300K 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 53% of all calls.
Jul peaks. Nov dips. Watch for the typical fall climb starting in October.
415 incidents 2021–2025. Peak year was 2023. $1.5M cumulative property loss.
| Year | Incidents | YoY | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2021 | 108 | — | |
| 2022 | 51 | -52.8% | |
| 2023 | 121 | +137.3% | |
| 2024 | 69 | -43.0% | |
| 2025 | 66 | -4.3% |
For the 9 building fires Douglas departments responded to in 2025, here's how they were classified once investigators were finished.
NFIRS Area of Origin (AREA_ORIG) for the 95 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 | 17 | 17.9% | |
| 2 | Undetermined | 15 | 15.8% | |
| 3 | Other | 14 | 14.7% | |
| 4 | Open area - outside; included are farmland, field | 7 | 7.4% | |
| 5 | Vehicle area, other | 5 | 5.3% | |
| 6 | Wildland, woods | 5 | 5.3% | |
| 7 | Cooking area, kitchen | 4 | 4.2% | |
| 8 | Structural area, other | 4 | 4.2% | |
| 9 | Engine area, running gear, wheel area | 4 | 4.2% | |
| 10 | Common room, den, family room, living room, lounge | 2 | 2.1% | |
| 11 | All other areas | 18 | 18.9% |
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 Douglas mix.
| # | Heat source | Count | Share | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Undetermined | 31 | 32.6% | |
| 2 | Hot ember or ash | 15 | 15.8% | |
| 3 | Heat source: other | 13 | 13.7% | |
| 4 | Hot or smoldering object, other | 7 | 7.4% | |
| 5 | Match | 7 | 7.4% | |
| 6 | Arcing | 4 | 4.2% | |
| 7 | Cigarette lighter | 4 | 4.2% | |
| 8 | Heat from powered equipment, other | 3 | 3.2% | |
| 9 | Cigarette | 2 | 2.1% | |
| 10 | Spark, ember or flame from operating equipment | 1 | 1.1% | |
| 11 | All other sources | 8 | 8.4% |
Largest single-incident property losses reported by Douglas departments in 2025. These 8 fires alone account for 99% of the city's annual total.
| # | Property loss | Type | Severity | Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | $300,000 | Building fires | Major | Investigated |
| 2 | $175,000 | Building or structure weakened or collapsed | Significant | Investigated |
| 3 | $50,000 | Building or structure weakened or collapsed | Significant | Investigated |
| 4 | $30,000 | Mobile property (vehicle) fire, other | Significant | Investigated |
| 5 | $20,000 | Fire, other | Significant | Investigated |
| 6 | $10,000 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
| 7 | $5,000 | Fire, other | Significant | Investigated |
| 8 | $5,000 | Trash or rubbish fire, contained | Significant | Investigated |
Per-capita rates let us compare apples to apples. Douglas sits below the national average for incidents per resident.
Top 25 wildfires (1992+) in the FPA-FOD ignitions database, scaled by acres. 3,982 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 | 31.2 mi | |
| 2008 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 700 | 31.2 mi | |
| 2003 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 300 | 33.3 mi | |
| 2002 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 300 | 31.2 mi | |
| 2014 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 256 | 31.1 mi | |
| 2001 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 250 | 44.3 mi | |
| 2015 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 250 | 31.6 mi | |
| 2016 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 172 | 31.3 mi | |
| 2004 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 120 | 44.7 mi | |
| 2020 | Recreation and ceremony | 94 | 30.8 mi | |
| 2020 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 79 | 31.2 mi | |
| 2018 | Debris and open burning | 58 | 29.2 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 | 01516 | 410 |
Six Massachusetts cities with population within ±25% of Douglas. 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.