In 2025, fire departments serving Gill responded to 28 fire and hazmat incidents — from cooking fires to gas leaks to a single $100K 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 75% of all calls.
Feb peaks. Jul dips. Watch for the typical fall climb starting in October.
165 incidents 2021–2025. Peak year was 2021. $260K cumulative property loss.
| Year | Incidents | YoY | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2021 | 49 | — | |
| 2022 | 25 | -49.0% | |
| 2023 | 35 | +40.0% | |
| 2024 | 28 | -20.0% | |
| 2025 | 28 | +0.0% |
For the 7 building fires Gill departments responded to in 2025, here's how they were classified once investigators were finished.
NFIRS Area of Origin (AREA_ORIG) for the 21 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 | Engine area, running gear, wheel area | 5 | 23.8% | |
| 2 | Cooking area, kitchen | 2 | 9.5% | |
| 3 | Bathroom, checkroom, lavatory, locker room | 2 | 9.5% | |
| 4 | Duct: hvac, cable, exhaust, heating, or AC | 2 | 9.5% | |
| 5 | Other | 1 | 4.8% | |
| 6 | Bedroom - < 5 persons; included are jail or prison | 1 | 4.8% | |
| 7 | Equipment or service area, other | 1 | 4.8% | |
| 8 | Maintenance shop or area, paint shop or area | 1 | 4.8% | |
| 9 | Substructure area or space, crawl space | 1 | 4.8% | |
| 10 | Wall surface: exterior | 1 | 4.8% | |
| 11 | All other areas | 4 | 19.0% |
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 Gill mix.
| # | Heat source | Count | Share | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Heat from powered equipment, other | 4 | 19.0% | |
| 2 | Radiated, conducted heat from operating equipment | 3 | 14.3% | |
| 3 | Arcing | 3 | 14.3% | |
| 4 | Undetermined | 3 | 14.3% | |
| 5 | Hot or smoldering object, other | 2 | 9.5% | |
| 6 | Heat, spark from friction | 2 | 9.5% | |
| 7 | Heat source: other | 1 | 4.8% | |
| 8 | Hot ember or ash | 1 | 4.8% | |
| 9 | Cigarette | 1 | 4.8% | |
| 10 | Heat from direct flame, convection currents | 1 | 4.8% |
Largest single-incident property losses reported by Gill departments in 2025. These 2 fires alone account for 100% of the city's annual total.
| # | Property loss | Type | Severity | Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | $100,000 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
| 2 | $5,000 | Chimney or flue fire, confined to chimney or flue | Significant | Investigated |
Per-capita rates let us compare apples to apples. Gill sits above the national average for incidents per resident.
Top 25 wildfires (1992+) in the FPA-FOD ignitions database, scaled by acres. 4,389 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 | 45.3 mi | |
| 2008 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 700 | 45.3 mi | |
| 2010 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 321 | 34.8 mi | |
| 2002 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 300 | 45.3 mi | |
| 2015 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 272 | 33.0 mi | |
| 2014 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 256 | 45.3 mi | |
| 2001 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 250 | 23.1 mi | |
| 2015 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 250 | 44.8 mi | |
| 2016 | Arson/incendiarism | 190 | 36.7 mi | |
| 2016 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 172 | 45.4 mi | |
| 2008 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 130 | 38.8 mi | |
| 2004 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 120 | 15.4 mi |
Top 4 ZIP codes by NFIRS incident count across 2021–2025. Each ZIP has its own fire profile — dive in for neighborhood-level context.
Six Massachusetts cities with population within ±25% of Gill. 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.