In 2025, fire departments serving Erving responded to 19 fire and hazmat incidents — from cooking fires to gas leaks to a single $1K 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 74% of all calls.
Feb peaks. Mar dips. Watch for the typical fall climb starting in October.
133 incidents 2021–2025. Peak year was 2023. $11.9M cumulative property loss.
| Year | Incidents | YoY | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2021 | 29 | — | |
| 2022 | 25 | -13.8% | |
| 2023 | 31 | +24.0% | |
| 2024 | 29 | -6.5% | |
| 2025 | 19 | -34.5% |
For the 1 building fires Erving departments responded to in 2025, here's how they were classified once investigators were finished.
NFIRS Area of Origin (AREA_ORIG) for the 24 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 | 7 | 29.2% | |
| 2 | Heating room or area, water heater area | 2 | 8.3% | |
| 3 | Vehicle area, other | 2 | 8.3% | |
| 4 | Wildland, woods | 2 | 8.3% | |
| 5 | Other | 1 | 4.2% | |
| 6 | Cooking area, kitchen | 1 | 4.2% | |
| 7 | Laundry area, wash house (laundry) | 1 | 4.2% | |
| 8 | Processing/manufacturing area, workroom | 1 | 4.2% | |
| 9 | Shipping/receiving area; loading area, dock or bay | 1 | 4.2% | |
| 10 | Vehicle storage area; garage, carport | 1 | 4.2% | |
| 11 | All other areas | 5 | 20.8% |
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 Erving mix.
| # | Heat source | Count | Share | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Spark, ember or flame from operating equipment | 4 | 16.7% | |
| 2 | Heat source: other | 3 | 12.5% | |
| 3 | Radiated, conducted heat from operating equipment | 2 | 8.3% | |
| 4 | Arcing | 2 | 8.3% | |
| 5 | Cigarette | 2 | 8.3% | |
| 6 | Undetermined | 2 | 8.3% | |
| 7 | Heat from powered equipment, other | 1 | 4.2% | |
| 8 | Hot or smoldering object, other | 1 | 4.2% | |
| 9 | Hot ember or ash | 1 | 4.2% | |
| 10 | Heat from other open flame or smoking materials | 1 | 4.2% | |
| 11 | All other sources | 5 | 20.8% |
Largest single-incident property losses reported by Erving departments in 2025. These 1 fires alone account for 100% of the city's annual total.
| # | Property loss | Type | Severity | Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | $1,000 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
Per-capita rates let us compare apples to apples. Erving sits above the national average for incidents per resident.
Top 25 wildfires (1992+) in the FPA-FOD ignitions database, scaled by acres. 4,321 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 | 40.9 mi | |
| 2008 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 700 | 40.9 mi | |
| 2010 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 321 | 35.3 mi | |
| 2002 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 300 | 40.9 mi | |
| 2015 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 272 | 37.4 mi | |
| 2014 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 256 | 40.9 mi | |
| 2001 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 250 | 22.1 mi | |
| 2015 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 250 | 40.3 mi | |
| 2016 | Arson/incendiarism | 190 | 36.0 mi | |
| 2016 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 172 | 40.9 mi | |
| 2008 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 130 | 42.7 mi | |
| 2004 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 120 | 11.1 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 | 01344 | 133 |
Six Massachusetts cities with population within ±25% of Erving. 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.