In 2025, fire departments serving Middlesex responded to 101 fire and hazmat incidents — from cooking fires to gas leaks to a single $150K 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 68% of all calls.
Mar peaks. Oct dips. Watch for the typical fall climb starting in October.
411 incidents 2021–2025. Peak year was 2021. $1.2M cumulative property loss. 2 civilian deaths.
| Year | Incidents | YoY | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2021 | 104 | — | |
| 2022 | 93 | -10.6% | |
| 2023 | 61 | -34.4% | |
| 2024 | 52 | -14.8% | |
| 2025 | 101 | +94.2% |
For the 22 building fires Middlesex departments responded to in 2025, here's how they were classified once investigators were finished.
NFIRS Area of Origin (AREA_ORIG) for the 189 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 | 55 | 29.1% | |
| 2 | Undetermined | 28 | 14.8% | |
| 3 | Open area - outside; included are farmland, field | 23 | 12.2% | |
| 4 | Wildland, woods | 17 | 9.0% | |
| 5 | Engine area, running gear, wheel area | 11 | 5.8% | |
| 6 | Cooking area, kitchen | 8 | 4.2% | |
| 7 | Vehicle area, other | 7 | 3.7% | |
| 8 | Bedroom - < 5 persons; included are jail or prison | 4 | 2.1% | |
| 9 | Other | 3 | 1.6% | |
| 10 | Laundry area, wash house (laundry) | 3 | 1.6% | |
| 11 | All other areas | 30 | 15.9% |
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 Middlesex mix.
| # | Heat source | Count | Share | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Undetermined | 68 | 36.0% | |
| 2 | Hot ember or ash | 18 | 9.5% | |
| 3 | Arcing | 12 | 6.3% | |
| 4 | Heat source: other | 11 | 5.8% | |
| 5 | Cigarette lighter | 9 | 4.8% | |
| 6 | Heat spread from another fire, other | 9 | 4.8% | |
| 7 | Heat from direct flame, convection currents | 9 | 4.8% | |
| 8 | Heat from other open flame or smoking materials | 7 | 3.7% | |
| 9 | Flame/torch used for lighting | 7 | 3.7% | |
| 10 | Heat from powered equipment, other | 6 | 3.2% | |
| 11 | All other sources | 33 | 17.5% |
Largest single-incident property losses reported by Middlesex departments in 2025. These 8 fires alone account for 96% of the city's annual total.
| # | Property loss | Type | Severity | Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | $150,000 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
| 2 | $35,000 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
| 3 | $10,000 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
| 4 | $10,000 | Passenger vehicle fire | Significant | Investigated |
| 5 | $9,000 | Passenger vehicle fire | Significant | Investigated |
| 6 | $8,000 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
| 7 | $8,000 | Passenger vehicle fire | Significant | Investigated |
| 8 | $5,000 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
Per-capita rates let us compare apples to apples. Middlesex sits above the national average for incidents per resident.
Top 25 wildfires (1992+) in the FPA-FOD ignitions database, scaled by acres. 10,794 acres burned in this 50-mile radius. Each dot is a fire — bigger dots burned more land.
| Year | Cause | Acres | Distance | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2011 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 2,030 | 36.8 mi | |
| 2008 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 2,012 | 33.7 mi | |
| 2008 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 1,778 | 28.8 mi | |
| 2018 | Recreation and ceremony | 339 | 45.4 mi | |
| 2009 | Arson/incendiarism | 300 | 44.7 mi | |
| 2008 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 300 | 41.5 mi | |
| 2000 | Equipment and vehicle use | 300 | 40.1 mi | |
| 2008 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 274 | 26.2 mi | |
| 2010 | Smoking | 274 | 43.5 mi | |
| 2008 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 257 | 26.4 mi | |
| 2001 | Debris and open burning | 254 | 26.5 mi | |
| 2016 | Debris and open burning | 250 | 49.8 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 North Carolina cities with population within ±25% of Middlesex. Useful comparison targets — same state, similar size, different fire profile.
1 departments report to NFIRS for incidents in Middlesex.
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.