In 2025, fire departments serving Hanson responded to 115 fire and hazmat incidents — from cooking fires to gas leaks to a single $200K 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 57% of all calls.
Mar peaks. Dec dips. Watch for the typical fall climb starting in October.
823 incidents 2021–2025. Peak year was 2021. $760K cumulative property loss. 2 civilian deaths.
| Year | Incidents | YoY | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2021 | 220 | — | |
| 2022 | 127 | -42.3% | |
| 2023 | 169 | +33.1% | |
| 2024 | 192 | +13.6% | |
| 2025 | 115 | -40.1% |
For the 9 building fires Hanson departments responded to in 2025, here's how they were classified once investigators were finished.
NFIRS Area of Origin (AREA_ORIG) for the 64 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 | Wildland, woods | 13 | 20.3% | |
| 2 | Outside area, other | 9 | 14.1% | |
| 3 | Engine area, running gear, wheel area | 6 | 9.4% | |
| 4 | Vehicle area, other | 5 | 7.8% | |
| 5 | Other | 4 | 6.2% | |
| 6 | Vehicle storage area; garage, carport | 3 | 4.7% | |
| 7 | Open area - outside; included are farmland, field | 3 | 4.7% | |
| 8 | Bedroom - < 5 persons; included are jail or prison | 2 | 3.1% | |
| 9 | Cooking area, kitchen | 2 | 3.1% | |
| 10 | Exterior balcony, unenclosed porch | 2 | 3.1% | |
| 11 | All other areas | 15 | 23.4% |
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 Hanson mix.
| # | Heat source | Count | Share | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Undetermined | 12 | 18.8% | |
| 2 | Hot or smoldering object, other | 10 | 15.6% | |
| 3 | Hot ember or ash | 9 | 14.1% | |
| 4 | Spark, ember or flame from operating equipment | 7 | 10.9% | |
| 5 | Cigarette | 5 | 7.8% | |
| 6 | Cigarette lighter | 4 | 6.2% | |
| 7 | Heat spread from another fire, other | 3 | 4.7% | |
| 8 | Heat source: other | 2 | 3.1% | |
| 9 | Heat from powered equipment, other | 2 | 3.1% | |
| 10 | Radiated, conducted heat from operating equipment | 1 | 1.6% | |
| 11 | All other sources | 9 | 14.1% |
Largest single-incident property losses reported by Hanson departments in 2025. These 1 fires alone account for 100% of the city's annual total.
| # | Property loss | Type | Severity | Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | $200,000 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
Per-capita rates let us compare apples to apples. Hanson sits above the national average for incidents per resident.
Top 25 wildfires (1992+) in the FPA-FOD ignitions database, scaled by acres. 3,528 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 | 49.7 mi | |
| 2008 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 700 | 49.7 mi | |
| 2003 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 300 | 22.2 mi | |
| 2002 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 300 | 49.7 mi | |
| 2014 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 256 | 49.7 mi | |
| 2007 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 186 | 39.7 mi | |
| 2016 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 172 | 49.7 mi | |
| 2016 | Natural | 120 | 29.0 mi | |
| 2014 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 90 | 31.0 mi | |
| 2020 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 79 | 49.8 mi | |
| 2018 | Debris and open burning | 58 | 49.3 mi | |
| 2016 | Debris and open burning | 55 | 12.4 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 | 02341 | 823 |
Six Massachusetts cities with population within ±25% of Hanson. 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.