In 2025, fire departments serving Harwich responded to 232 fire and hazmat incidents — from cooking fires to gas leaks to a single $200K building blaze. Here's the full picture.
Electrical wiring/equipment problem, other lead by count. Building fires lead by dollars. Together the top five categories make up about 58% of all calls.
Mar peaks. Sep dips. Watch for the typical fall climb starting in October.
1,313 incidents 2021–2025. Peak year was 2021. $1.3M cumulative property loss.
| Year | Incidents | YoY | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2021 | 297 | — | |
| 2022 | 273 | -8.1% | |
| 2023 | 240 | -12.1% | |
| 2024 | 271 | +12.9% | |
| 2025 | 232 | -14.4% |
For the 19 building fires Harwich departments responded to in 2025, here's how they were classified once investigators were finished.
NFIRS Area of Origin (AREA_ORIG) for the 94 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 | 18 | 19.1% | |
| 2 | Outside area, other | 17 | 18.1% | |
| 3 | Cooking area, kitchen | 7 | 7.4% | |
| 4 | Undetermined | 7 | 7.4% | |
| 5 | Common room, den, family room, living room, lounge | 5 | 5.3% | |
| 6 | Wall surface: exterior | 4 | 4.3% | |
| 7 | Exterior, exposed surface | 4 | 4.3% | |
| 8 | Bedroom - < 5 persons; included are jail or prison | 3 | 3.2% | |
| 9 | Storage area, other | 3 | 3.2% | |
| 10 | Vehicle storage area; garage, carport | 3 | 3.2% | |
| 11 | All other areas | 23 | 24.5% |
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 Harwich mix.
| # | Heat source | Count | Share | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Undetermined | 19 | 20.2% | |
| 2 | Heat from powered equipment, other | 16 | 17.0% | |
| 3 | Arcing | 14 | 14.9% | |
| 4 | Radiated, conducted heat from operating equipment | 8 | 8.5% | |
| 5 | Hot or smoldering object, other | 8 | 8.5% | |
| 6 | Heat source: other | 5 | 5.3% | |
| 7 | Sunlight | 4 | 4.3% | |
| 8 | Spark, ember or flame from operating equipment | 3 | 3.2% | |
| 9 | Chemical reaction | 3 | 3.2% | |
| 10 | Heat from direct flame, convection currents | 3 | 3.2% | |
| 11 | All other sources | 11 | 11.7% |
Largest single-incident property losses reported by Harwich departments in 2025. These 8 fires alone account for 98% of the city's annual total.
| # | Property loss | Type | Severity | Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | $200,000 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
| 2 | $22,000 | Passenger vehicle fire | Significant | Investigated |
| 3 | $15,000 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
| 4 | $10,000 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
| 5 | $7,500 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
| 6 | $6,000 | Passenger vehicle fire | Significant | Investigated |
| 7 | $5,000 | Mobile property (vehicle) fire, other | Significant | Investigated |
| 8 | $2,500 | Passenger vehicle fire | Significant | Investigated |
Per-capita rates let us compare apples to apples. Harwich sits above the national average for incidents per resident.
Top 11 wildfires (1992+) in the FPA-FOD ignitions database, scaled by acres. 301 acres burned in this 50-mile radius. Each dot is a fire — bigger dots burned more land.
| Year | Cause | Acres | Distance | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2016 | Natural | 120 | 23.6 mi | |
| 2016 | Debris and open burning | 55 | 45.8 mi | |
| 2017 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 29 | 24.3 mi | |
| 2015 | Recreation and ceremony | 15 | 20.6 mi | |
| 2017 | Misuse of fire by a minor | 15 | 47.7 mi | |
| 2003 | Arson/incendiarism | 13 | 25.5 mi | |
| 2015 | Recreation and ceremony | 13 | 20.3 mi | |
| 2017 | Arson/incendiarism | 11 | 14.4 mi | |
| 2004 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 10 | 28.5 mi | |
| 2004 | Equipment and vehicle use | 10 | 26.1 mi | |
| 2015 | Recreation and ceremony | 10 | 8.1 mi |
Top 5 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 Harwich. 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.