In 2025, fire departments serving East Brookfield responded to 20 fire and hazmat incidents — from cooking fires to gas leaks to a single $20K building blaze. Here's the full picture.
Attempted burning, illegal action, other lead by count. Building fires lead by dollars. Together the top five categories make up about 65% of all calls.
Jun peaks. Dec dips. Watch for the typical fall climb starting in October.
166 incidents 2021–2025. Peak year was 2024. $425K cumulative property loss. 1 civilian deaths.
| Year | Incidents | YoY | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2021 | 33 | — | |
| 2022 | 26 | -21.2% | |
| 2023 | 30 | +15.4% | |
| 2024 | 57 | +90.0% | |
| 2025 | 20 | -64.9% |
For the 1 building fires East Brookfield departments responded to in 2025, here's how they were classified once investigators were finished.
NFIRS Area of Origin (AREA_ORIG) for the 17 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 | 5 | 29.4% | |
| 2 | Cooking area, kitchen | 3 | 17.6% | |
| 3 | Engine area, running gear, wheel area | 2 | 11.8% | |
| 4 | Other | 1 | 5.9% | |
| 5 | Exterior stairway, ramp, or fire escape | 1 | 5.9% | |
| 6 | Common room, den, family room, living room, lounge | 1 | 5.9% | |
| 7 | Storage area, other | 1 | 5.9% | |
| 8 | Structural area, other | 1 | 5.9% | |
| 9 | Exterior balcony, unenclosed porch | 1 | 5.9% | |
| 10 | Vehicle area, other | 1 | 5.9% |
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 East Brookfield mix.
| # | Heat source | Count | Share | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Spark, ember or flame from operating equipment | 3 | 17.6% | |
| 2 | Undetermined | 3 | 17.6% | |
| 3 | Hot ember or ash | 2 | 11.8% | |
| 4 | Heat source: other | 1 | 5.9% | |
| 5 | Heat from powered equipment, other | 1 | 5.9% | |
| 6 | Radiated, conducted heat from operating equipment | 1 | 5.9% | |
| 7 | Arcing | 1 | 5.9% | |
| 8 | Cigarette | 1 | 5.9% | |
| 9 | Cigarette lighter | 1 | 5.9% | |
| 10 | Backfire from internal combustion engine | 1 | 5.9% | |
| 11 | All other sources | 2 | 11.8% |
Largest single-incident property losses reported by East Brookfield departments in 2025. These 1 fires alone account for 100% of the city's annual total.
| # | Property loss | Type | Severity | Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | $20,000 | Passenger vehicle fire | Significant | Investigated |
Per-capita rates let us compare apples to apples. East Brookfield sits above the national average for incidents per resident.
Top 25 wildfires (1992+) in the FPA-FOD ignitions database, scaled by acres. 4,575 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 | 29.0 mi | |
| 2008 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 700 | 29.0 mi | |
| 1997 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 361 | 49.3 mi | |
| 2010 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 321 | 39.3 mi | |
| 2003 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 300 | 44.6 mi | |
| 2002 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 300 | 29.0 mi | |
| 2014 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 256 | 28.9 mi | |
| 2001 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 250 | 26.6 mi | |
| 2015 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 250 | 29.0 mi | |
| 2016 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 172 | 29.1 mi | |
| 2004 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 120 | 28.8 mi | |
| 2020 | Recreation and ceremony | 94 | 33.1 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 | 01515 | 166 |
Six Massachusetts cities with population within ±25% of East Brookfield. 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.