In 2025, fire departments serving Lisbon Falls responded to 33 fire and hazmat incidents — from cooking fires to gas leaks to a single $100K building blaze. Here's the full picture.
Unauthorized burning lead by count. Building fires lead by dollars. Together the top five categories make up about 58% of all calls.
Jun peaks. Aug dips. Watch for the typical fall climb starting in October.
189 incidents 2021–2025. Peak year was 2024. $1.3M cumulative property loss.
| Year | Incidents | YoY | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2021 | 38 | — | |
| 2022 | 30 | -21.1% | |
| 2023 | 42 | +40.0% | |
| 2024 | 46 | +9.5% | |
| 2025 | 33 | -28.3% |
For the 1 building fires Lisbon Falls departments responded to in 2025, here's how they were classified once investigators were finished.
NFIRS Area of Origin (AREA_ORIG) for the 45 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 | Cooking area, kitchen | 11 | 24.4% | |
| 2 | Other | 5 | 11.1% | |
| 3 | Outside area, other | 5 | 11.1% | |
| 4 | Engine area, running gear, wheel area | 4 | 8.9% | |
| 5 | Open area - outside; included are farmland, field | 3 | 6.7% | |
| 6 | Bedroom - < 5 persons; included are jail or prison | 2 | 4.4% | |
| 7 | Storage: supplies or tools; dead storage | 2 | 4.4% | |
| 8 | Exterior stairway, ramp, or fire escape | 1 | 2.2% | |
| 9 | Laundry area, wash house (laundry) | 1 | 2.2% | |
| 10 | Vehicle storage area; garage, carport | 1 | 2.2% | |
| 11 | All other areas | 10 | 22.2% |
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 Lisbon Falls mix.
| # | Heat source | Count | Share | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Undetermined | 15 | 33.3% | |
| 2 | Radiated, conducted heat from operating equipment | 8 | 17.8% | |
| 3 | Hot ember or ash | 5 | 11.1% | |
| 4 | Heat from powered equipment, other | 4 | 8.9% | |
| 5 | Arcing | 2 | 4.4% | |
| 6 | Hot or smoldering object, other | 2 | 4.4% | |
| 7 | Cigarette | 2 | 4.4% | |
| 8 | Heat source: other | 1 | 2.2% | |
| 9 | Spark, ember or flame from operating equipment | 1 | 2.2% | |
| 10 | Molten, hot material | 1 | 2.2% | |
| 11 | All other sources | 4 | 8.9% |
Largest single-incident property losses reported by Lisbon Falls departments in 2025. These 4 fires alone account for 100% of the city's annual total.
| # | Property loss | Type | Severity | Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | $100,000 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
| 2 | $1,500 | Passenger vehicle fire | Significant | Investigated |
| 3 | $720 | Outside gas or vapor combustion explosion | Significant | Investigated |
| 4 | $400 | Special outside fire, other | Significant | Investigated |
Per-capita rates let us compare apples to apples. Lisbon Falls sits above the national average for incidents per resident.
6 fire-related casualties recorded in NFIRS Module 11 across the 2021–2025 window. Age, gender, and severity are coarse-binned — no individual identification possible.
| Age | Count | |
|---|---|---|
| 0-9 | 0 | |
| 10-19 | 0 | |
| 20-29 | 2 | |
| 30-39 | 3 | |
| 40-49 | 0 | |
| 50-59 | 0 | |
| 60-69 | 1 | |
| 70-79 | 0 | |
| 80+ | 0 |
Top 25 wildfires (1992+) in the FPA-FOD ignitions database, scaled by acres. 979 acres burned in this 50-mile radius. Each dot is a fire — bigger dots burned more land.
| Year | Cause | Acres | Distance | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2001 | Misuse of fire by a minor | 236 | 29.0 mi | |
| 1992 | Arson/incendiarism | 64 | 46.8 mi | |
| 2002 | Recreation and ceremony | 57 | 28.2 mi | |
| 2000 | Debris and open burning | 51 | 43.2 mi | |
| 2015 | Debris and open burning | 48 | 47.5 mi | |
| 2016 | Arson/incendiarism | 42 | 36.6 mi | |
| 2006 | Debris and open burning | 40 | 44.9 mi | |
| 2003 | Debris and open burning | 40 | 29.2 mi | |
| 2006 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 39 | 15.7 mi | |
| 2020 | Arson/incendiarism | 33 | 43.2 mi | |
| 2011 | Arson/incendiarism | 33 | 26.4 mi | |
| 2013 | Arson/incendiarism | 32 | 9.9 mi |
Top 2 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 Lisbon Falls. 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.