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2025 Annual Fire Report

Fires in Everett, Massachusetts

In 2025, fire departments serving Everett responded to 351 fire and hazmat incidents — from cooking fires to gas leaks to a single $750K building blaze. Here's the full picture.

Updated Sep 27, 2026 Grade A- Peak yr 2021 Middlesex County 48,685 residents 0 reporting departments 1,792 5-yr
Total incidents
351
+1.4% vs 2024
Building fires
39
Residential 67% Other 33%
Property loss
$1.4M
$1.4M structure · $50K contents
Deaths & injuries
0 / 3
0 civilian deaths · 0 civ injuries · 3 firefighter injuries
01 The mix

What kinds of fires happen here?

Cooking fire, confined to container lead by count. Building fires lead by dollars. Together the top five categories make up about 51% of all calls.

351
Total Incidents
Cooking fire, confined to container 42 12.0%
Building fires 39 11.1%
Power line down 37 10.5%
Gas leak (natural gas or LPG) 34 9.7%
Natural vegetation fire, other 28 8.0%
All other categories 171 48.7%
02 Seasonality

When do fires happen?

Jun peaks. Nov dips. Watch for the typical fall climb starting in October.

Jan 25
Feb 28
Mar 39
Apr 30
May 38
Jun 41
Jul 35
Aug 39
Sep 20
Oct 32
Nov 0
Dec 24
Fewer
More
2b Five-year trend

Year over year in Everett

1,792 incidents 2021–2025. Peak year was 2021. $5.6M cumulative property loss.

YearIncidentsYoY 
2021 374 —
2022 366 -2.1%
2023 355 -3.0%
2024 346 -2.5%
2025 351 +1.4%
03 Cause of ignition

What sparks building fires?

For the 39 building fires Everett departments responded to in 2025, here's how they were classified once investigators were finished.

Unintentional
42%
35
Cause undetermined
25%
21
Intentional / arson
5%
4
Equipment / heat source failure
17%
14
Under investigation
8%
7
Act of nature (lightning)
3%
2
3b Where fires start

Where do fires start in Everett?

NFIRS Area of Origin (AREA_ORIG) for the 418 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 originCountShare 
1 Outside area, other 111 26.6%
2 Highway, parking lot, street: on or near 71 17.0%
3 Open area - outside; included are farmland, field 23 5.5%
4 Exterior balcony, unenclosed porch 21 5.0%
5 Cooking area, kitchen 19 4.5%
6 Engine area, running gear, wheel area 18 4.3%
7 Bedroom - < 5 persons; included are jail or prison 17 4.1%
8 Courtyard, patio, porch, terrace 14 3.3%
9 Exterior, exposed surface 12 2.9%
10 Function area, other 10 2.4%
11 All other areas 102 24.4%
3c What ignited it

What actually ignited the fire?

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 Everett mix.

#Heat sourceCountShare 
1 Undetermined 181 43.3%
2 Cigarette 73 17.5%
3 Heat from powered equipment, other 49 11.7%
4 Hot or smoldering object, other 28 6.7%
5 Heat source: other 11 2.6%
6 Spark, ember or flame from operating equipment 11 2.6%
7 Arcing 11 2.6%
8 Hot ember or ash 9 2.2%
9 Radiated, conducted heat from operating equipment 7 1.7%
10 Sunlight 7 1.7%
11 All other sources 31 7.4%
04 The biggest fires

4 fires · $1.4M in losses

Largest single-incident property losses reported by Everett departments in 2025. These 4 fires alone account for 100% of the city's annual total.

# Property loss Type Severity Status
1 $750,000 Building fires Major Investigated
2 $600,000 Building fires Major Investigated
3 $1,000 Building fires Significant Investigated
4 $1,000 Fire, other Significant Investigated
05 How Everett compares

Everett vs Massachusetts vs the nation

Per-capita rates let us compare apples to apples. Everett sits below the national average for incidents per resident.

7.21
Incidents per 1,000 residents
Everett
7.21
MA avg
8.75
US avg
7.48
0.8
Building fires per 1,000 residents
Everett
0.8
MA avg
0.57
US avg
0.85
0
Civilian fire deaths per million
Everett
0
MA avg
2.8
US avg
5.9
5b Who gets hurt

Casualty demographics in Everett

20 fire-related casualties recorded in NFIRS Module 11 across the 2021–2025 window. Age, gender, and severity are coarse-binned — no individual identification possible.

AgeCount 
0-9 3
10-19 0
20-29 1
30-39 2
40-49 5
50-59 7
60-69 2
70-79 0
80+ 0
Civilian vs firefighter
Civilian 3 FF 17
Gender
M 19 F 1 Unk 0
Severity (1=minor → 5=fatal)
9
1
4
2
2
3
5
4
0
5
5c Wildfires nearby

Wildfires within 50 mi of Everett

Top 25 wildfires (1992+) in the FPA-FOD ignitions database, scaled by acres. 3,655 acres burned in this 50-mile radius. Each dot is a fire — bigger dots burned more land.

50 mi radius
YearCauseAcresDistance 
2005 Missing data/not specified/undetermined 800 30.5 mi
2008 Missing data/not specified/undetermined 700 30.5 mi
2003 Missing data/not specified/undetermined 300 10.7 mi
2002 Missing data/not specified/undetermined 300 30.5 mi
2014 Missing data/not specified/undetermined 256 30.5 mi
2015 Missing data/not specified/undetermined 250 31.1 mi
2007 Missing data/not specified/undetermined 186 14.9 mi
2016 Missing data/not specified/undetermined 172 30.5 mi
2014 Missing data/not specified/undetermined 90 8.6 mi
2020 Missing data/not specified/undetermined 79 30.7 mi
2018 Debris and open burning 58 31.1 mi
2016 Debris and open burning 55 37.0 mi
5d Top ZIPs

Where in Everett do fires concentrate?

Top 4 ZIP codes by NFIRS incident count across 2021–2025. Each ZIP has its own fire profile — dive in for neighborhood-level context.

#ZIP5-yr incidents 
1 02149 1,766
2 02150 23
3 02146 1
4 98201 1
5e Peer cities

Cities similar to Everett

Six Massachusetts cities with population within ±25% of Everett. Useful comparison targets — same state, similar size, different fire profile.

07 Stay prepared

Before the next Red Flag day.

A 30-minute weekend can cut your home's exposure substantially. These four checklists are a good starting point.

About this data

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.