In 2025, fire departments serving Hampden responded to 54 fire and hazmat incidents — from cooking fires to gas leaks to a single $10K 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 52% of all calls.
Jun peaks. Dec dips. Watch for the typical fall climb starting in October.
422 incidents 2021–2025. Peak year was 2023. $1.3M cumulative property loss. 1 civilian deaths.
| Year | Incidents | YoY | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2021 | 73 | — | |
| 2022 | 64 | -12.3% | |
| 2023 | 149 | +132.8% | |
| 2024 | 82 | -45.0% | |
| 2025 | 54 | -34.1% |
For the 8 building fires Hampden departments responded to in 2025, here's how they were classified once investigators were finished.
NFIRS Area of Origin (AREA_ORIG) for the 39 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 | 8 | 20.5% | |
| 2 | Undetermined | 7 | 17.9% | |
| 3 | Vehicle storage area; garage, carport | 5 | 12.8% | |
| 4 | Bathroom, checkroom, lavatory, locker room | 2 | 5.1% | |
| 5 | Storage room, area, tank, or bin | 2 | 5.1% | |
| 6 | Ceiling & floor assembly, crawl space b/t stories | 2 | 5.1% | |
| 7 | Operator/passenger area of transportation equip. | 2 | 5.1% | |
| 8 | Egress/exit, other | 1 | 2.6% | |
| 9 | Bedroom - < 5 persons; included are jail or prison | 1 | 2.6% | |
| 10 | Cooking area, kitchen | 1 | 2.6% | |
| 11 | All other areas | 8 | 20.5% |
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 Hampden mix.
| # | Heat source | Count | Share | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Undetermined | 16 | 41.0% | |
| 2 | Radiated, conducted heat from operating equipment | 6 | 15.4% | |
| 3 | Arcing | 4 | 10.3% | |
| 4 | Spark, ember or flame from operating equipment | 3 | 7.7% | |
| 5 | Hot ember or ash | 3 | 7.7% | |
| 6 | Heat, spark from friction | 1 | 2.6% | |
| 7 | Cigarette | 1 | 2.6% | |
| 8 | Heat from undetermined smoking material | 1 | 2.6% | |
| 9 | Backfire from internal combustion engine | 1 | 2.6% | |
| 10 | Lightning | 1 | 2.6% | |
| 11 | All other sources | 2 | 5.1% |
Largest single-incident property losses reported by Hampden departments in 2025. These 1 fires alone account for 100% of the city's annual total.
| # | Property loss | Type | Severity | Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | $10,000 | Passenger vehicle fire | Significant | Investigated |
Per-capita rates let us compare apples to apples. Hampden sits below the national average for incidents per resident.
Top 25 wildfires (1992+) in the FPA-FOD ignitions database, scaled by acres. 1,252 acres burned in this 50-mile radius. Each dot is a fire — bigger dots burned more land.
| Year | Cause | Acres | Distance | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1999 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 205 | 49.8 mi | |
| 2003 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 124 | 40.5 mi | |
| 1994 | Misuse of fire by a minor | 100 | 37.1 mi | |
| 2001 | Debris and open burning | 77 | 26.3 mi | |
| 2016 | Debris and open burning | 61 | 38.9 mi | |
| 2002 | Recreation and ceremony | 57 | 48.3 mi | |
| 1992 | Debris and open burning | 50 | 11.9 mi | |
| 2015 | Other causes | 50 | 40.4 mi | |
| 2015 | Debris and open burning | 48 | 30.4 mi | |
| 1992 | Debris and open burning | 42 | 28.4 mi | |
| 1995 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 40 | 21.9 mi | |
| 1997 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 40 | 36.1 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 Maine cities with population within ±25% of Hampden. 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.