In 2025, fire departments serving Easthampton responded to 84 fire and hazmat incidents — from cooking fires to gas leaks to a single $20K 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 64% of all calls.
Aug peaks. Jun dips. Watch for the typical fall climb starting in October.
531 incidents 2021–2025. Peak year was 2024. $295K cumulative property loss.
| Year | Incidents | YoY | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2021 | 100 | — | |
| 2022 | 102 | +2.0% | |
| 2023 | 110 | +7.8% | |
| 2024 | 135 | +22.7% | |
| 2025 | 84 | -37.8% |
For the 2 building fires Easthampton departments responded to in 2025, here's how they were classified once investigators were finished.
NFIRS Area of Origin (AREA_ORIG) for the 122 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 | Cooking area, kitchen | 29 | 23.8% | |
| 2 | Outside area, other | 29 | 23.8% | |
| 3 | Other | 11 | 9.0% | |
| 4 | Engine area, running gear, wheel area | 7 | 5.7% | |
| 5 | Duct: hvac, cable, exhaust, heating, or AC | 5 | 4.1% | |
| 6 | Open area - outside; included are farmland, field | 5 | 4.1% | |
| 7 | Wildland, woods | 5 | 4.1% | |
| 8 | Bedroom - < 5 persons; included are jail or prison | 3 | 2.5% | |
| 9 | Structural area, other | 3 | 2.5% | |
| 10 | Common room, den, family room, living room, lounge | 2 | 1.6% | |
| 11 | All other areas | 23 | 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 Easthampton mix.
| # | Heat source | Count | Share | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Undetermined | 24 | 19.7% | |
| 2 | Heat source: other | 19 | 15.6% | |
| 3 | Heat from powered equipment, other | 11 | 9.0% | |
| 4 | Hot ember or ash | 9 | 7.4% | |
| 5 | Cigarette | 9 | 7.4% | |
| 6 | Heat from direct flame, convection currents | 6 | 4.9% | |
| 7 | Arcing | 5 | 4.1% | |
| 8 | Hot or smoldering object, other | 5 | 4.1% | |
| 9 | Match | 5 | 4.1% | |
| 10 | Flame/torch used for lighting | 4 | 3.3% | |
| 11 | All other sources | 25 | 20.5% |
Largest single-incident property losses reported by Easthampton departments in 2025. These 1 fires alone account for 100% of the city's annual total.
| # | Property loss | Type | Severity | Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | $20,000 | Fire, other | Significant | Investigated |
Per-capita rates let us compare apples to apples. Easthampton sits below the national average for incidents per resident.
Top 25 wildfires (1992+) in the FPA-FOD ignitions database, scaled by acres. 4,689 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 | 40.0 mi | |
| 2016 | Natural | 384 | 47.9 mi | |
| 1997 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 361 | 48.4 mi | |
| 2010 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 321 | 9.3 mi | |
| 2015 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 272 | 39.7 mi | |
| 2001 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 250 | 6.7 mi | |
| 1994 | Misuse of fire by a minor | 180 | 45.7 mi | |
| 1994 | Misuse of fire by a minor | 180 | 45.7 mi | |
| 2008 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 175 | 37.4 mi | |
| 2010 | Recreation and ceremony | 137 | 45.2 mi | |
| 2008 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 130 | 35.4 mi | |
| 2004 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 120 | 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 | 01027 | 531 |
Six Massachusetts cities with population within ±25% of Easthampton. 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.