In 2025, fire departments serving Medway responded to 145 fire and hazmat incidents — from cooking fires to gas leaks to a single $400K building blaze. Here's the full picture.
Power line down lead by count. Building fires lead by dollars. Together the top five categories make up about 59% of all calls.
Sep peaks. Dec dips. Watch for the typical fall climb starting in October.
994 incidents 2021–2025. Peak year was 2023. $2.1M cumulative property loss.
| Year | Incidents | YoY | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2021 | 214 | — | |
| 2022 | 210 | -1.9% | |
| 2023 | 216 | +2.9% | |
| 2024 | 209 | -3.2% | |
| 2025 | 145 | -30.6% |
For the 11 building fires Medway departments responded to in 2025, here's how they were classified once investigators were finished.
NFIRS Area of Origin (AREA_ORIG) for the 88 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 | Outside area, other | 26 | 29.5% | |
| 2 | Wildland, woods | 12 | 13.6% | |
| 3 | Cooking area, kitchen | 6 | 6.8% | |
| 4 | Engine area, running gear, wheel area | 5 | 5.7% | |
| 5 | Other | 3 | 3.4% | |
| 6 | Exterior balcony, unenclosed porch | 3 | 3.4% | |
| 7 | Open area - outside; included are farmland, field | 3 | 3.4% | |
| 8 | Laundry area, wash house (laundry) | 2 | 2.3% | |
| 9 | Storage area, other | 2 | 2.3% | |
| 10 | Storage room, area, tank, or bin | 2 | 2.3% | |
| 11 | All other areas | 24 | 27.3% |
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 Medway mix.
| # | Heat source | Count | Share | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Undetermined | 26 | 29.5% | |
| 2 | Hot ember or ash | 13 | 14.8% | |
| 3 | Hot or smoldering object, other | 11 | 12.5% | |
| 4 | Heat from powered equipment, other | 9 | 10.2% | |
| 5 | Heat source: other | 5 | 5.7% | |
| 6 | Spark, ember or flame from operating equipment | 4 | 4.5% | |
| 7 | Heat from undetermined smoking material | 3 | 3.4% | |
| 8 | Radiated, conducted heat from operating equipment | 2 | 2.3% | |
| 9 | Cigarette | 2 | 2.3% | |
| 10 | Match | 2 | 2.3% | |
| 11 | All other sources | 11 | 12.5% |
Largest single-incident property losses reported by Medway departments in 2025. These 8 fires alone account for 100% of the city's annual total.
| # | Property loss | Type | Severity | Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | $400,000 | Building fires | Major | Investigated |
| 2 | $250,000 | Building fires | Major | Investigated |
| 3 | $150,000 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
| 4 | $21,000 | Passenger vehicle fire | Significant | Investigated |
| 5 | $5,000 | Forest, woods or wildland fire | Significant | Investigated |
| 6 | $5,000 | Outside equipment fire | Significant | Investigated |
| 7 | $2,500 | Outside equipment fire | Significant | Investigated |
| 8 | $100 | Forest, woods or wildland fire | Significant | Investigated |
Per-capita rates let us compare apples to apples. Medway sits above the national average for incidents per resident.
Top 25 wildfires (1992+) in the FPA-FOD ignitions database, scaled by acres. 3,793 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 | 26.1 mi | |
| 2008 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 700 | 26.1 mi | |
| 2003 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 300 | 15.5 mi | |
| 2002 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 300 | 26.1 mi | |
| 2014 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 256 | 26.0 mi | |
| 2015 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 250 | 26.7 mi | |
| 2007 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 186 | 38.4 mi | |
| 2016 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 172 | 26.1 mi | |
| 2020 | Recreation and ceremony | 94 | 47.9 mi | |
| 2014 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 90 | 34.5 mi | |
| 2020 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 79 | 26.1 mi | |
| 2018 | Debris and open burning | 58 | 24.8 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 Medway. 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.