In 2025, fire departments serving Dunstable responded to 55 fire and hazmat incidents — from cooking fires to gas leaks to a single $50K building blaze. Here's the full picture.
Unauthorized burning lead by count. Building fires lead by dollars. Together the top five categories make up about 75% of all calls.
Jan peaks. Feb dips. Watch for the typical fall climb starting in October.
250 incidents 2021–2025. Peak year was 2024. $3.2M cumulative property loss.
| Year | Incidents | YoY | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2021 | 44 | — | |
| 2022 | 39 | -11.4% | |
| 2023 | 36 | -7.7% | |
| 2024 | 76 | +111.1% | |
| 2025 | 55 | -27.6% |
For the 10 building fires Dunstable departments responded to in 2025, here's how they were classified once investigators were finished.
NFIRS Area of Origin (AREA_ORIG) for the 83 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 | Wildland, woods | 14 | 16.9% | |
| 2 | Undetermined | 9 | 10.8% | |
| 3 | Cooking area, kitchen | 8 | 9.6% | |
| 4 | Open area - outside; included are farmland, field | 8 | 9.6% | |
| 5 | Common room, den, family room, living room, lounge | 7 | 8.4% | |
| 6 | Engine area, running gear, wheel area | 5 | 6.0% | |
| 7 | Vehicle storage area; garage, carport | 4 | 4.8% | |
| 8 | Highway, parking lot, street: on or near | 4 | 4.8% | |
| 9 | Duct: hvac, cable, exhaust, heating, or AC | 3 | 3.6% | |
| 10 | Heating room or area, water heater area | 3 | 3.6% | |
| 11 | All other areas | 18 | 21.7% |
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 Dunstable mix.
| # | Heat source | Count | Share | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Undetermined | 43 | 51.8% | |
| 2 | Radiated, conducted heat from operating equipment | 11 | 13.3% | |
| 3 | Hot ember or ash | 7 | 8.4% | |
| 4 | Heat source: other | 5 | 6.0% | |
| 5 | Heat from powered equipment, other | 3 | 3.6% | |
| 6 | Flying brand, ember, spark | 3 | 3.6% | |
| 7 | Spark, ember or flame from operating equipment | 2 | 2.4% | |
| 8 | Arcing | 2 | 2.4% | |
| 9 | Heat from direct flame, convection currents | 2 | 2.4% | |
| 10 | Molten, hot material | 1 | 1.2% | |
| 11 | All other sources | 4 | 4.8% |
Largest single-incident property losses reported by Dunstable departments in 2025. These 8 fires alone account for 100% of the city's annual total.
| # | Property loss | Type | Severity | Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | $50,000 | Passenger vehicle fire | Significant | Investigated |
| 2 | $50,000 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
| 3 | $30,000 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
| 4 | $5,000 | Passenger vehicle fire | Significant | Investigated |
| 5 | $3,000 | Passenger vehicle fire | Significant | Investigated |
| 6 | $3,000 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
| 7 | $200 | Brush, or brush and grass mixture fire | Significant | Investigated |
| 8 | $20 | Cooking fire, confined to container | Significant | Investigated |
Per-capita rates let us compare apples to apples. Dunstable sits above the national average for incidents per resident.
Top 25 wildfires (1992+) in the FPA-FOD ignitions database, scaled by acres. 3,987 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 | 14.3 mi | |
| 2008 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 700 | 14.3 mi | |
| 2003 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 300 | 31.8 mi | |
| 2002 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 300 | 14.3 mi | |
| 2014 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 256 | 14.4 mi | |
| 2015 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 250 | 14.2 mi | |
| 2016 | Arson/incendiarism | 190 | 39.4 mi | |
| 2007 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 186 | 24.7 mi | |
| 2016 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 172 | 14.2 mi | |
| 2004 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 120 | 36.5 mi | |
| 2014 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 90 | 30.7 mi | |
| 2020 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 79 | 14.4 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 Massachusetts cities with population within ±25% of Dunstable. 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.