In 2025, fire departments serving Grafton responded to 67 fire and hazmat incidents — from cooking fires to gas leaks to a single $5K building blaze. Here's the full picture.
Gas leak (natural gas or LPG) lead by count. Building fires lead by dollars. Together the top five categories make up about 67% of all calls.
Mar peaks. Dec dips. Watch for the typical fall climb starting in October.
376 incidents 2021–2025. Peak year was 2022. $1.8M cumulative property loss.
| Year | Incidents | YoY | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2021 | 73 | — | |
| 2022 | 85 | +16.4% | |
| 2023 | 77 | -9.4% | |
| 2024 | 74 | -3.9% | |
| 2025 | 67 | -9.5% |
For the 6 building fires Grafton departments responded to in 2025, here's how they were classified once investigators were finished.
NFIRS Area of Origin (AREA_ORIG) for the 63 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 | 15 | 23.8% | |
| 2 | Undetermined | 9 | 14.3% | |
| 3 | Other | 5 | 7.9% | |
| 4 | Cooking area, kitchen | 5 | 7.9% | |
| 5 | Engine area, running gear, wheel area | 5 | 7.9% | |
| 6 | Vehicle storage area; garage, carport | 4 | 6.3% | |
| 7 | Vehicle area, other | 4 | 6.3% | |
| 8 | Open area - outside; included are farmland, field | 3 | 4.8% | |
| 9 | Processing/manufacturing area, workroom | 2 | 3.2% | |
| 10 | Wall assembly | 2 | 3.2% | |
| 11 | All other areas | 9 | 14.3% |
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 Grafton mix.
| # | Heat source | Count | Share | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Undetermined | 21 | 33.3% | |
| 2 | Radiated, conducted heat from operating equipment | 6 | 9.5% | |
| 3 | Arcing | 6 | 9.5% | |
| 4 | Heat source: other | 5 | 7.9% | |
| 5 | Hot ember or ash | 5 | 7.9% | |
| 6 | Match | 4 | 6.3% | |
| 7 | Chemical reaction | 3 | 4.8% | |
| 8 | Heat from powered equipment, other | 2 | 3.2% | |
| 9 | Hot or smoldering object, other | 2 | 3.2% | |
| 10 | Heat, spark from friction | 2 | 3.2% | |
| 11 | All other sources | 7 | 11.1% |
Largest single-incident property losses reported by Grafton departments in 2025. These 1 fires alone account for 100% of the city's annual total.
| # | Property loss | Type | Severity | Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | $5,000 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
Per-capita rates let us compare apples to apples. Grafton sits below the national average for incidents per resident.
Top 25 wildfires (1992+) in the FPA-FOD ignitions database, scaled by acres. 4,162 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 | 20.1 mi | |
| 2008 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 700 | 20.1 mi | |
| 2003 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 300 | 26.2 mi | |
| 2002 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 300 | 20.1 mi | |
| 2014 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 256 | 19.9 mi | |
| 2001 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 250 | 44.7 mi | |
| 2015 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 250 | 20.4 mi | |
| 2007 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 186 | 44.2 mi | |
| 2016 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 172 | 20.2 mi | |
| 2004 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 120 | 38.3 mi | |
| 2020 | Recreation and ceremony | 94 | 41.3 mi | |
| 2014 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 90 | 42.8 mi |
Top 3 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 Grafton. 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.