In 2025, fire departments serving Mendon responded to 12 fire and hazmat incidents . Here's the full picture.
Outside rubbish, trash or waste fire lead by count. Building fires lead by dollars. Together the top five categories make up about 83% of all calls.
Jul peaks. Apr dips. Watch for the typical fall climb starting in October.
75 incidents 2021–2025. Peak year was 2023.
| Year | Incidents | YoY | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2021 | 16 | — | |
| 2022 | 14 | -12.5% | |
| 2023 | 17 | +21.4% | |
| 2024 | 16 | -5.9% | |
| 2025 | 12 | -25.0% |
For the 0 building fires Mendon departments responded to in 2025, here's how they were classified once investigators were finished.
NFIRS Area of Origin (AREA_ORIG) for the 9 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 | 5 | 55.6% | |
| 2 | Other | 1 | 11.1% | |
| 3 | Common room, den, family room, living room, lounge | 1 | 11.1% | |
| 4 | Wall surface: exterior | 1 | 11.1% | |
| 5 | Exterior, exposed surface | 1 | 11.1% |
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 Mendon mix.
| # | Heat source | Count | Share | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Undetermined | 6 | 66.7% | |
| 2 | Radiated, conducted heat from operating equipment | 2 | 22.2% | |
| 3 | Spark, ember or flame from operating equipment | 1 | 11.1% |
Per-capita rates let us compare apples to apples. Mendon sits above the national average for incidents per resident.
Top 25 wildfires (1992+) in the FPA-FOD ignitions database, scaled by acres. 1,885 acres burned in this 50-mile radius. Each dot is a fire — bigger dots burned more land.
| Year | Cause | Acres | Distance | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1992 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 270 | 20.1 mi | |
| 2014 | Recreation and ceremony | 173 | 47.4 mi | |
| 2015 | Power generation/transmission/distribution | 137 | 24.4 mi | |
| 2015 | Recreation and ceremony | 121 | 41.5 mi | |
| 2012 | Debris and open burning | 120 | 35.6 mi | |
| 1994 | Recreation and ceremony | 117 | 46.9 mi | |
| 2009 | Equipment and vehicle use | 83 | 32.4 mi | |
| 2001 | Arson/incendiarism | 82 | 39.4 mi | |
| 2002 | Natural | 65 | 44.1 mi | |
| 2014 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 62 | 26.8 mi | |
| 2016 | Smoking | 60 | 48.4 mi | |
| 2018 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 60 | 11.2 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 Vermont cities with population within ±25% of Mendon. 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.