In 2025, fire departments serving Houlton responded to 43 fire and hazmat incidents — from cooking fires to gas leaks to a single $40K 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 40% of all calls.
Aug peaks. Mar dips. Watch for the typical fall climb starting in October.
195 incidents 2021–2025. Peak year was 2022. $306K cumulative property loss.
| Year | Incidents | YoY | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2021 | 28 | — | |
| 2022 | 47 | +67.9% | |
| 2023 | 46 | -2.1% | |
| 2024 | 31 | -32.6% | |
| 2025 | 43 | +38.7% |
For the 4 building fires Houlton departments responded to in 2025, here's how they were classified once investigators were finished.
NFIRS Area of Origin (AREA_ORIG) for the 34 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 | Wall surface: exterior | 5 | 14.7% | |
| 2 | Engine area, running gear, wheel area | 5 | 14.7% | |
| 3 | Cooking area, kitchen | 3 | 8.8% | |
| 4 | Vehicle storage area; garage, carport | 3 | 8.8% | |
| 5 | Wall assembly | 3 | 8.8% | |
| 6 | Open area - outside; included are farmland, field | 3 | 8.8% | |
| 7 | Undetermined | 3 | 8.8% | |
| 8 | Exterior balcony, unenclosed porch | 2 | 5.9% | |
| 9 | Common room, den, family room, living room, lounge | 1 | 2.9% | |
| 10 | Laundry area, wash house (laundry) | 1 | 2.9% | |
| 11 | All other areas | 5 | 14.7% |
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 Houlton mix.
| # | Heat source | Count | Share | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Undetermined | 11 | 32.4% | |
| 2 | Arcing | 8 | 23.5% | |
| 3 | Radiated, conducted heat from operating equipment | 4 | 11.8% | |
| 4 | Cigarette | 3 | 8.8% | |
| 5 | Hot ember or ash | 2 | 5.9% | |
| 6 | Heat from undetermined smoking material | 1 | 2.9% | |
| 7 | Cigarette lighter | 1 | 2.9% | |
| 8 | Candle | 1 | 2.9% | |
| 9 | Backfire from internal combustion engine | 1 | 2.9% | |
| 10 | Flame/torch used for lighting | 1 | 2.9% | |
| 11 | All other sources | 1 | 2.9% |
Largest single-incident property losses reported by Houlton departments in 2025. These 3 fires alone account for 100% of the city's annual total.
| # | Property loss | Type | Severity | Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | $40,000 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
| 2 | $13,000 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
| 3 | $1,000 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
Per-capita rates let us compare apples to apples. Houlton sits below the national average for incidents per resident.
Top 25 wildfires (1992+) in the FPA-FOD ignitions database, scaled by acres. 1,836 acres burned in this 50-mile radius. Each dot is a fire — bigger dots burned more land.
| Year | Cause | Acres | Distance | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2020 | Smoking | 236 | 21.4 mi | |
| 1992 | Arson/incendiarism | 145 | 11.2 mi | |
| 2002 | Debris and open burning | 129 | 49.9 mi | |
| 1992 | Debris and open burning | 125 | 32.2 mi | |
| 2001 | Railroad operations and maintenance | 97 | 40.7 mi | |
| 1999 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 93 | 17.8 mi | |
| 2004 | Debris and open burning | 92 | 34.8 mi | |
| 2001 | Railroad operations and maintenance | 82 | 39.7 mi | |
| 2007 | Debris and open burning | 75 | 47.0 mi | |
| 1992 | Arson/incendiarism | 75 | 11.4 mi | |
| 2000 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 65 | 14.6 mi | |
| 2001 | Railroad operations and maintenance | 60 | 47.2 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 | 04730 | 195 |
Six Maine cities with population within ±25% of Houlton. 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.