In 2025, fire departments serving Millbury responded to 37 fire and hazmat incidents — from cooking fires to gas leaks to a single $75K 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.
Nov peaks. Dec dips. Watch for the typical fall climb starting in October.
144 incidents 2021–2025. Peak year was 2025. $350K cumulative property loss.
| Year | Incidents | YoY | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2021 | 28 | — | |
| 2022 | 29 | +3.6% | |
| 2023 | 29 | +0.0% | |
| 2024 | 21 | -27.6% | |
| 2025 | 37 | +76.2% |
For the 10 building fires Millbury departments responded to in 2025, here's how they were classified once investigators were finished.
NFIRS Area of Origin (AREA_ORIG) for the 43 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 | Open area - outside; included are farmland, field | 14 | 32.6% | |
| 2 | Outside area, other | 6 | 14.0% | |
| 3 | Cooking area, kitchen | 3 | 7.0% | |
| 4 | Engine area, running gear, wheel area | 3 | 7.0% | |
| 5 | Undetermined | 3 | 7.0% | |
| 6 | Operator/passenger area of transportation equip. | 2 | 4.7% | |
| 7 | Highway, parking lot, street: on or near | 2 | 4.7% | |
| 8 | Other | 1 | 2.3% | |
| 9 | Bedroom - < 5 persons; included are jail or prison | 1 | 2.3% | |
| 10 | Shipping/receiving area; loading area, dock or bay | 1 | 2.3% | |
| 11 | All other areas | 7 | 16.3% |
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 Millbury mix.
| # | Heat source | Count | Share | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Undetermined | 17 | 39.5% | |
| 2 | Cigarette lighter | 4 | 9.3% | |
| 3 | Heat from powered equipment, other | 3 | 7.0% | |
| 4 | Radiated, conducted heat from operating equipment | 3 | 7.0% | |
| 5 | Flame/torch used for lighting | 3 | 7.0% | |
| 6 | Spark, ember or flame from operating equipment | 2 | 4.7% | |
| 7 | Arcing | 2 | 4.7% | |
| 8 | Hot ember or ash | 2 | 4.7% | |
| 9 | Flying brand, ember, spark | 2 | 4.7% | |
| 10 | Heat source: other | 1 | 2.3% | |
| 11 | All other sources | 4 | 9.3% |
Largest single-incident property losses reported by Millbury departments in 2025. These 5 fires alone account for 100% of the city's annual total.
| # | Property loss | Type | Severity | Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | $75,000 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
| 2 | $20,000 | Road freight or transport vehicle fire | Significant | Investigated |
| 3 | $8,000 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
| 4 | $1,000 | Cooking fire, confined to container | Significant | Investigated |
| 5 | $500 | Natural vegetation fire, other | Significant | Investigated |
Per-capita rates let us compare apples to apples. Millbury sits above the national average for incidents per resident.
Top 20 wildfires (1992+) in the FPA-FOD ignitions database, scaled by acres. 827 acres burned in this 50-mile radius. Each dot is a fire — bigger dots burned more land.
| Year | Cause | Acres | Distance | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2019 | Debris and open burning | 300 | 32.4 mi | |
| 2019 | Equipment and vehicle use | 80 | 27.7 mi | |
| 2005 | Debris and open burning | 77 | 34.5 mi | |
| 2010 | Arson/incendiarism | 69 | 12.6 mi | |
| 2019 | Debris and open burning | 58 | 43.5 mi | |
| 2010 | Arson/incendiarism | 42 | 35.0 mi | |
| 2019 | Debris and open burning | 40 | 45.1 mi | |
| 2017 | Debris and open burning | 22 | 19.1 mi | |
| 2005 | Debris and open burning | 20 | 39.7 mi | |
| 2011 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 16 | 38.0 mi | |
| 2019 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 12 | 44.2 mi | |
| 2015 | Debris and open burning | 11 | 26.9 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 Ohio cities with population within ±25% of Millbury. 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.