In 2025, fire departments serving East Longmeadow responded to 110 fire and hazmat incidents — from cooking fires to gas leaks to a single $100K building blaze. Here's the full picture.
Gas leak (natural gas or LPG) lead by count. Building fires lead by dollars. Together the top five categories make up about 61% of all calls.
Jan peaks. Dec dips. Watch for the typical fall climb starting in October.
642 incidents 2021–2025. Peak year was 2024. $1.4M cumulative property loss.
| Year | Incidents | YoY | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2021 | 127 | — | |
| 2022 | 129 | +1.6% | |
| 2023 | 135 | +4.7% | |
| 2024 | 141 | +4.4% | |
| 2025 | 110 | -22.0% |
For the 10 building fires East Longmeadow departments responded to in 2025, here's how they were classified once investigators were finished.
NFIRS Area of Origin (AREA_ORIG) for the 93 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 | 23 | 24.7% | |
| 2 | Cooking area, kitchen | 9 | 9.7% | |
| 3 | Open area - outside; included are farmland, field | 9 | 9.7% | |
| 4 | Engine area, running gear, wheel area | 6 | 6.5% | |
| 5 | Chute/container - trash, rubbish, waste | 4 | 4.3% | |
| 6 | Equipment or service area, other | 4 | 4.3% | |
| 7 | Highway, parking lot, street: on or near | 4 | 4.3% | |
| 8 | Other | 3 | 3.2% | |
| 9 | Vehicle storage area; garage, carport | 3 | 3.2% | |
| 10 | Undetermined | 3 | 3.2% | |
| 11 | All other areas | 25 | 26.9% |
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 Longmeadow mix.
| # | Heat source | Count | Share | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Heat from powered equipment, other | 20 | 21.5% | |
| 2 | Hot or smoldering object, other | 12 | 12.9% | |
| 3 | Undetermined | 11 | 11.8% | |
| 4 | Hot ember or ash | 10 | 10.8% | |
| 5 | Radiated, conducted heat from operating equipment | 7 | 7.5% | |
| 6 | Spark, ember or flame from operating equipment | 4 | 4.3% | |
| 7 | Heat from other open flame or smoking materials | 4 | 4.3% | |
| 8 | Chemical reaction | 4 | 4.3% | |
| 9 | Arcing | 3 | 3.2% | |
| 10 | Cigarette | 3 | 3.2% | |
| 11 | All other sources | 15 | 16.1% |
Largest single-incident property losses reported by East Longmeadow departments in 2025. These 8 fires alone account for 100% of the city's annual total.
| # | Property loss | Type | Severity | Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | $100,000 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
| 2 | $20,000 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
| 3 | $10,000 | Brush, or brush and grass mixture fire | Significant | Investigated |
| 4 | $10,000 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
| 5 | $5,000 | Grass fire | Significant | Investigated |
| 6 | $5,000 | Passenger vehicle fire | Significant | Investigated |
| 7 | $5,000 | Chimney or flue fire, confined to chimney or flue | Significant | Investigated |
| 8 | $1,500 | Mobile property (vehicle) fire, other | Significant | Investigated |
Per-capita rates let us compare apples to apples. East Longmeadow sits below the national average for incidents per resident.
Top 25 wildfires (1992+) in the FPA-FOD ignitions database, scaled by acres. 4,714 acres burned in this 50-mile radius. Each dot is a fire — bigger dots burned more land.
| Year | Cause | Acres | Distance | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2008 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 1,300 | 36.0 mi | |
| 2016 | Natural | 384 | 47.3 mi | |
| 1997 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 361 | 33.4 mi | |
| 2010 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 321 | 18.3 mi | |
| 2001 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 250 | 16.8 mi | |
| 1994 | Misuse of fire by a minor | 180 | 39.8 mi | |
| 1994 | Misuse of fire by a minor | 180 | 39.8 mi | |
| 1999 | Arson/incendiarism | 175 | 48.8 mi | |
| 2008 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 175 | 31.2 mi | |
| 2012 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 150 | 38.5 mi | |
| 2010 | Recreation and ceremony | 137 | 38.4 mi | |
| 2000 | Arson/incendiarism | 125 | 48.8 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 East Longmeadow. 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.