In 2025, fire departments serving Eliot responded to 112 fire and hazmat incidents — from cooking fires to gas leaks to a single $400K 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 64% of all calls.
Aug peaks. Dec dips. Watch for the typical fall climb starting in October.
425 incidents 2021–2025. Peak year was 2025. $1.4M cumulative property loss.
| Year | Incidents | YoY | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2021 | 56 | — | |
| 2022 | 91 | +62.5% | |
| 2023 | 78 | -14.3% | |
| 2024 | 88 | +12.8% | |
| 2025 | 112 | +27.3% |
For the 10 building fires Eliot departments responded to in 2025, here's how they were classified once investigators were finished.
NFIRS Area of Origin (AREA_ORIG) for the 18 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 | Undetermined | 4 | 22.2% | |
| 2 | Vehicle storage area; garage, carport | 3 | 16.7% | |
| 3 | Common room, den, family room, living room, lounge | 2 | 11.1% | |
| 4 | Engine area, running gear, wheel area | 2 | 11.1% | |
| 5 | Entrance way, lobby | 1 | 5.6% | |
| 6 | Cooking area, kitchen | 1 | 5.6% | |
| 7 | Processing/manufacturing area, workroom | 1 | 5.6% | |
| 8 | Storage: supplies or tools; dead storage | 1 | 5.6% | |
| 9 | Chute/container - trash, rubbish, waste | 1 | 5.6% | |
| 10 | Heating room or area, water heater area | 1 | 5.6% | |
| 11 | All other areas | 1 | 5.6% |
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 Eliot mix.
| # | Heat source | Count | Share | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Undetermined | 9 | 50.0% | |
| 2 | Arcing | 4 | 22.2% | |
| 3 | Spark, ember or flame from operating equipment | 1 | 5.6% | |
| 4 | Radiated, conducted heat from operating equipment | 1 | 5.6% | |
| 5 | Hot ember or ash | 1 | 5.6% | |
| 6 | Cigarette lighter | 1 | 5.6% | |
| 7 | Flame/torch used for lighting | 1 | 5.6% |
Largest single-incident property losses reported by Eliot departments in 2025. These 3 fires alone account for 100% of the city's annual total.
| # | Property loss | Type | Severity | Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | $400,000 | Building fires | Major | Investigated |
| 2 | $25,000 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
| 3 | $25,000 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
Per-capita rates let us compare apples to apples. Eliot sits above the national average for incidents per resident.
Top 25 wildfires (1992+) in the FPA-FOD ignitions database, scaled by acres. 1,796 acres burned in this 50-mile radius. Each dot is a fire — bigger dots burned more land.
| Year | Cause | Acres | Distance | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2018 | Debris and open burning | 314 | 17.7 mi | |
| 2015 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 275 | 49.7 mi | |
| 2001 | Misuse of fire by a minor | 236 | 42.0 mi | |
| 2007 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 186 | 38.4 mi | |
| 2015 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 92 | 43.6 mi | |
| 2014 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 90 | 45.5 mi | |
| 2015 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 59 | 41.8 mi | |
| 2019 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 54 | 38.4 mi | |
| 2015 | Smoking | 50 | 46.4 mi | |
| 2016 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 50 | 31.6 mi | |
| 2016 | Arson/incendiarism | 42 | 33.6 mi | |
| 2016 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 41 | 33.2 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 Maine cities with population within ±25% of Eliot. 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.