In 2025, fire departments serving Medway responded to 28 fire and hazmat incidents . Here's the full picture.
Building fires lead by count. Building fires lead by dollars. Together the top five categories make up about 82% of all calls.
Aug peaks. Dec dips. Watch for the typical fall climb starting in October.
116 incidents 2021–2025. Peak year was 2025. $2K cumulative property loss.
| Year | Incidents | YoY | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2021 | 18 | — | |
| 2022 | 23 | +27.8% | |
| 2023 | 24 | +4.3% | |
| 2024 | 23 | -4.2% | |
| 2025 | 28 | +21.7% |
For the 8 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 15 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 | 5 | 33.3% | |
| 2 | Engine area, running gear, wheel area | 2 | 13.3% | |
| 3 | Cooking area, kitchen | 1 | 6.7% | |
| 4 | Storage room, area, tank, or bin | 1 | 6.7% | |
| 5 | Vehicle storage area; garage, carport | 1 | 6.7% | |
| 6 | Duct: hvac, cable, exhaust, heating, or AC | 1 | 6.7% | |
| 7 | Equipment or service area, other | 1 | 6.7% | |
| 8 | Heating room or area, water heater area | 1 | 6.7% | |
| 9 | Exterior balcony, unenclosed porch | 1 | 6.7% | |
| 10 | Open area - outside; included are farmland, field | 1 | 6.7% |
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 Medway mix.
| # | Heat source | Count | Share | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Undetermined | 8 | 53.3% | |
| 2 | Radiated, conducted heat from operating equipment | 2 | 13.3% | |
| 3 | Heat from direct flame, convection currents | 2 | 13.3% | |
| 4 | Arcing | 1 | 6.7% | |
| 5 | Hot ember or ash | 1 | 6.7% | |
| 6 | Radiated heat from another fire | 1 | 6.7% |
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. 2,312 acres burned in this 50-mile radius. Each dot is a fire — bigger dots burned more land.
| Year | Cause | Acres | Distance | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1992 | Smoking | 856 | 43.4 mi | |
| 2020 | Smoking | 236 | 30.7 mi | |
| 1992 | Debris and open burning | 125 | 24.0 mi | |
| 2001 | Railroad operations and maintenance | 97 | 17.6 mi | |
| 1999 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 93 | 35.5 mi | |
| 2001 | Railroad operations and maintenance | 82 | 18.3 mi | |
| 1994 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 75 | 10.8 mi | |
| 2002 | Arson/incendiarism | 67 | 36.9 mi | |
| 2016 | Debris and open burning | 61 | 41.4 mi | |
| 2001 | Railroad operations and maintenance | 60 | 12.0 mi | |
| 2015 | Other causes | 50 | 28.2 mi | |
| 2004 | Debris and open burning | 50 | 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 | 04460 | 116 |
Six Maine cities with population within ±25% of Medway. Useful comparison targets — same state, similar size, different fire profile.
1 departments report to NFIRS for incidents in Medway.
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.