In 2025, fire departments serving Ellsworth responded to 109 fire and hazmat incidents — from cooking fires to gas leaks to a single $300K building blaze. Here's the full picture.
Building fires lead by count. Building fires lead by dollars. Together the top five categories make up about 48% of all calls.
Aug peaks. Dec dips. Watch for the typical fall climb starting in October.
534 incidents 2021–2025. Peak year was 2023. $1.4M cumulative property loss.
| Year | Incidents | YoY | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2021 | 94 | — | |
| 2022 | 107 | +13.8% | |
| 2023 | 134 | +25.2% | |
| 2024 | 90 | -32.8% | |
| 2025 | 109 | +21.1% |
For the 18 building fires Ellsworth departments responded to in 2025, here's how they were classified once investigators were finished.
NFIRS Area of Origin (AREA_ORIG) for the 139 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 | 27 | 19.4% | |
| 2 | Engine area, running gear, wheel area | 20 | 14.4% | |
| 3 | Cooking area, kitchen | 15 | 10.8% | |
| 4 | Other | 13 | 9.4% | |
| 5 | Wildland, woods | 13 | 9.4% | |
| 6 | Open area - outside; included are farmland, field | 9 | 6.5% | |
| 7 | Highway, parking lot, street: on or near | 8 | 5.8% | |
| 8 | Undetermined | 6 | 4.3% | |
| 9 | Vehicle area, other | 4 | 2.9% | |
| 10 | Bedroom - < 5 persons; included are jail or prison | 3 | 2.2% | |
| 11 | All other areas | 21 | 15.1% |
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 Ellsworth mix.
| # | Heat source | Count | Share | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Undetermined | 53 | 38.1% | |
| 2 | Heat from powered equipment, other | 13 | 9.4% | |
| 3 | Arcing | 12 | 8.6% | |
| 4 | Hot or smoldering object, other | 9 | 6.5% | |
| 5 | Heat from other open flame or smoking materials | 7 | 5.0% | |
| 6 | Heat from direct flame, convection currents | 7 | 5.0% | |
| 7 | Radiated, conducted heat from operating equipment | 6 | 4.3% | |
| 8 | Hot ember or ash | 6 | 4.3% | |
| 9 | Heat source: other | 5 | 3.6% | |
| 10 | Cigarette | 5 | 3.6% | |
| 11 | All other sources | 16 | 11.5% |
Largest single-incident property losses reported by Ellsworth departments in 2025. These 8 fires alone account for 99% of the city's annual total.
| # | Property loss | Type | Severity | Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | $300,000 | Accident, potential accident, other | Major | Investigated |
| 2 | $200,000 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
| 3 | $173,000 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
| 4 | $120,000 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
| 5 | $35,000 | Passenger vehicle fire | Significant | Investigated |
| 6 | $30,000 | Passenger vehicle fire | Significant | Investigated |
| 7 | $25,000 | Passenger vehicle fire | Significant | Investigated |
| 8 | $10,000 | Passenger vehicle fire | Significant | Investigated |
Per-capita rates let us compare apples to apples. Ellsworth sits above the national average for incidents per resident.
Top 25 wildfires (1992+) in the FPA-FOD ignitions database, scaled by acres. 4,947 acres burned in this 50-mile radius. Each dot is a fire — bigger dots burned more land.
| Year | Cause | Acres | Distance | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2006 | Equipment and vehicle use | 770 | 41.7 mi | |
| 1998 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 657 | 39.6 mi | |
| 1994 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 515 | 38.8 mi | |
| 2001 | Debris and open burning | 495 | 39.5 mi | |
| 1993 | Arson/incendiarism | 250 | 43.7 mi | |
| 1995 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 215 | 33.4 mi | |
| 1999 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 205 | 27.7 mi | |
| 2013 | Arson/incendiarism | 200 | 33.0 mi | |
| 1992 | Arson/incendiarism | 177 | 38.8 mi | |
| 2004 | Arson/incendiarism | 161 | 31.0 mi | |
| 1993 | Arson/incendiarism | 156 | 36.8 mi | |
| 2003 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 124 | 18.5 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 | 04605 | 534 |
Six Maine cities with population within ±25% of Ellsworth. 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.