In 2025, fire departments serving Harpswell responded to 56 fire and hazmat incidents — from cooking fires to gas leaks to a single $400K building blaze. Here's the full picture.
Incomplete 2025 data. Harpswell's departments reported 56 incidents to NFIRS for 2025, against about 103 in a typical year, so 2025 figures on this page undercount. The 2021–2025 totals are the better guide.
Building fires 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.
513 incidents 2021–2025. Peak year was 2024. $2.5M cumulative property loss.
| Year | Incidents | YoY | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2021 | 91 | — | |
| 2022 | 95 | +4.4% | |
| 2023 | 107 | +12.6% | |
| 2024 | 164 | +53.3% | |
| 2025* | 56 | — |
* Well below Harpswell's usual volume. That almost always means one or more departments didn't submit a full year to NFIRS, not that fires dropped, so no year-over-year change is shown for it.
For the 13 building fires Harpswell departments responded to in 2025, here's how they were classified once investigators were finished.
NFIRS Area of Origin (AREA_ORIG) for the 28 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 | Undetermined | 7 | 25.0% | |
| 2 | Cooking area, kitchen | 4 | 14.3% | |
| 3 | Engine area, running gear, wheel area | 3 | 10.7% | |
| 4 | Substructure area or space, crawl space | 2 | 7.1% | |
| 5 | Exterior balcony, unenclosed porch | 2 | 7.1% | |
| 6 | Roof surface: exterior | 2 | 7.1% | |
| 7 | Common room, den, family room, living room, lounge | 1 | 3.6% | |
| 8 | Bedroom - < 5 persons; included are jail or prison | 1 | 3.6% | |
| 9 | Storage room, area, tank, or bin | 1 | 3.6% | |
| 10 | Storage: supplies or tools; dead storage | 1 | 3.6% | |
| 11 | All other areas | 4 | 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 Harpswell mix.
| # | Heat source | Count | Share | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Undetermined | 11 | 39.3% | |
| 2 | Arcing | 6 | 21.4% | |
| 3 | Radiated, conducted heat from operating equipment | 3 | 10.7% | |
| 4 | Lightning | 2 | 7.1% | |
| 5 | Spark, ember or flame from operating equipment | 1 | 3.6% | |
| 6 | Molten, hot material | 1 | 3.6% | |
| 7 | Hot ember or ash | 1 | 3.6% | |
| 8 | Chemical reaction | 1 | 3.6% | |
| 9 | Heat from direct flame, convection currents | 1 | 3.6% | |
| 10 | Radiated heat from another fire | 1 | 3.6% |
Largest single-incident property losses reported by Harpswell departments in 2025. These 4 fires alone account for 100% of the city's annual total.
| # | Property loss | Type | Severity | Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | $400,000 | Building fires | Major | Investigated |
| 2 | $200,000 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
| 3 | $165,200 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
| 4 | $10,000 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
Per-capita rates let us compare apples to apples. Harpswell sits above the national average for incidents per resident.
Top 25 wildfires (1992+) in the FPA-FOD ignitions database, scaled by acres. 1,131 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 | 45.5 mi | |
| 2001 | Misuse of fire by a minor | 236 | 19.4 mi | |
| 2002 | Recreation and ceremony | 57 | 37.3 mi | |
| 2016 | Arson/incendiarism | 42 | 27.9 mi | |
| 2009 | Debris and open burning | 40 | 45.1 mi | |
| 2003 | Debris and open burning | 40 | 44.6 mi | |
| 2006 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 39 | 30.8 mi | |
| 2020 | Arson/incendiarism | 33 | 34.7 mi | |
| 2011 | Arson/incendiarism | 33 | 41.7 mi | |
| 2013 | Arson/incendiarism | 32 | 25.2 mi | |
| 2003 | Railroad operations and maintenance | 31 | 17.3 mi | |
| 1992 | Debris and open burning | 29 | 26.5 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 Maine cities with population within ±25% of Harpswell. 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.