In 2025, fire departments serving Falmouth responded to 90 fire and hazmat incidents — from cooking fires to gas leaks to a single $448K 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 65% of all calls.
Jul peaks. Aug dips. Watch for the typical fall climb starting in October.
701 incidents 2021–2025. Peak year was 2024. $1.4M cumulative property loss.
| Year | Incidents | YoY | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2021 | 97 | — | |
| 2022 | 144 | +48.5% | |
| 2023 | 176 | +22.2% | |
| 2024 | 194 | +10.2% | |
| 2025 | 90 | -53.6% |
For the 14 building fires Falmouth departments responded to in 2025, here's how they were classified once investigators were finished.
NFIRS Area of Origin (AREA_ORIG) for the 137 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 | 25 | 18.2% | |
| 2 | Engine area, running gear, wheel area | 20 | 14.6% | |
| 3 | Undetermined | 16 | 11.7% | |
| 4 | Common room, den, family room, living room, lounge | 11 | 8.0% | |
| 5 | Highway, parking lot, street: on or near | 9 | 6.6% | |
| 6 | Open area - outside; included are farmland, field | 6 | 4.4% | |
| 7 | Wildland, woods | 5 | 3.6% | |
| 8 | Heating room or area, water heater area | 4 | 2.9% | |
| 9 | Vehicle area, other | 4 | 2.9% | |
| 10 | Courtyard, patio, porch, terrace | 4 | 2.9% | |
| 11 | All other areas | 33 | 24.1% |
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 Falmouth mix.
| # | Heat source | Count | Share | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Undetermined | 49 | 35.8% | |
| 2 | Radiated, conducted heat from operating equipment | 24 | 17.5% | |
| 3 | Hot ember or ash | 13 | 9.5% | |
| 4 | Spark, ember or flame from operating equipment | 9 | 6.6% | |
| 5 | Heat from powered equipment, other | 7 | 5.1% | |
| 6 | Arcing | 7 | 5.1% | |
| 7 | Cigarette | 4 | 2.9% | |
| 8 | Heat, spark from friction | 3 | 2.2% | |
| 9 | Flame/torch used for lighting | 3 | 2.2% | |
| 10 | Lightning | 3 | 2.2% | |
| 11 | All other sources | 15 | 10.9% |
Largest single-incident property losses reported by Falmouth departments in 2025. These 5 fires alone account for 100% of the city's annual total.
| # | Property loss | Type | Severity | Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | $448,000 | Building fires | Major | Investigated |
| 2 | $30,000 | Passenger vehicle fire | Significant | Investigated |
| 3 | $5,000 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
| 4 | $4,000 | Passenger vehicle fire | Significant | Investigated |
| 5 | $1,000 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
Per-capita rates let us compare apples to apples. Falmouth sits below the national average for incidents per resident.
Top 25 wildfires (1992+) in the FPA-FOD ignitions database, scaled by acres. 1,281 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 | 31.3 mi | |
| 2001 | Misuse of fire by a minor | 236 | 9.7 mi | |
| 1995 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 60 | 44.9 mi | |
| 2002 | Recreation and ceremony | 57 | 49.0 mi | |
| 2000 | Debris and open burning | 51 | 47.4 mi | |
| 2016 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 50 | 42.6 mi | |
| 2016 | Arson/incendiarism | 42 | 15.7 mi | |
| 2009 | Debris and open burning | 40 | 31.2 mi | |
| 2003 | Debris and open burning | 40 | 46.7 mi | |
| 2006 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 39 | 30.7 mi | |
| 2020 | Arson/incendiarism | 33 | 22.0 mi | |
| 2011 | Arson/incendiarism | 33 | 41.4 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 | 04105 | 701 |
Six Maine cities with population within ±25% of Falmouth. Useful comparison targets — same state, similar size, different fire profile.
1 departments report to NFIRS for incidents in Falmouth.
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.