In 2025, fire departments serving Millis responded to 109 fire and hazmat incidents — from cooking fires to gas leaks to a single $500K building blaze. Here's the full picture.
Electrical wiring/equipment problem, other lead by count. Building fires lead by dollars. Together the top five categories make up about 61% of all calls.
Mar peaks. Feb dips. Watch for the typical fall climb starting in October.
317 incidents 2021–2025. Peak year was 2025. $2.3M cumulative property loss.
| Year | Incidents | YoY | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2021 | 53 | — | |
| 2022 | 53 | +0.0% | |
| 2023 | 56 | +5.7% | |
| 2024 | 46 | -17.9% | |
| 2025 | 109 | +137.0% |
For the 11 building fires Millis departments responded to in 2025, here's how they were classified once investigators were finished.
NFIRS Area of Origin (AREA_ORIG) for the 62 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 | 13 | 21.0% | |
| 2 | Other | 7 | 11.3% | |
| 3 | Engine area, running gear, wheel area | 7 | 11.3% | |
| 4 | Open area - outside; included are farmland, field | 5 | 8.1% | |
| 5 | Undetermined | 5 | 8.1% | |
| 6 | Cooking area, kitchen | 4 | 6.5% | |
| 7 | Highway, parking lot, street: on or near | 3 | 4.8% | |
| 8 | Cargo/trunk area - all vehicles | 2 | 3.2% | |
| 9 | Corridor, mall | 1 | 1.6% | |
| 10 | Egress/exit, other | 1 | 1.6% | |
| 11 | All other areas | 14 | 22.6% |
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 Millis mix.
| # | Heat source | Count | Share | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Undetermined | 10 | 16.1% | |
| 2 | Arcing | 7 | 11.3% | |
| 3 | Heat source: other | 6 | 9.7% | |
| 4 | Heat from powered equipment, other | 5 | 8.1% | |
| 5 | Hot ember or ash | 5 | 8.1% | |
| 6 | Flame/torch used for lighting | 5 | 8.1% | |
| 7 | Hot or smoldering object, other | 4 | 6.5% | |
| 8 | Spark, ember or flame from operating equipment | 3 | 4.8% | |
| 9 | Radiated, conducted heat from operating equipment | 3 | 4.8% | |
| 10 | Sunlight | 3 | 4.8% | |
| 11 | All other sources | 11 | 17.7% |
Largest single-incident property losses reported by Millis departments in 2025. These 7 fires alone account for 100% of the city's annual total.
| # | Property loss | Type | Severity | Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | $500,000 | Building fires | Major | Investigated |
| 2 | $500,000 | Building fires | Major | Investigated |
| 3 | $400,000 | Fire, other | Major | Investigated |
| 4 | $250,000 | Building fires | Major | Investigated |
| 5 | $20,000 | Mobile property (vehicle) fire, other | Significant | Investigated |
| 6 | $12,000 | Mobile property (vehicle) fire, other | Significant | Investigated |
| 7 | $15 | Cooking fire, confined to container | Significant | Investigated |
Per-capita rates let us compare apples to apples. Millis sits above the national average for incidents per resident.
Top 25 wildfires (1992+) in the FPA-FOD ignitions database, scaled by acres. 3,726 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 | 26.7 mi | |
| 2008 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 700 | 26.7 mi | |
| 2003 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 300 | 12.1 mi | |
| 2002 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 300 | 26.7 mi | |
| 2014 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 256 | 26.6 mi | |
| 2015 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 250 | 27.3 mi | |
| 2007 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 186 | 35.7 mi | |
| 2016 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 172 | 26.8 mi | |
| 2014 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 90 | 31.3 mi | |
| 2020 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 79 | 26.8 mi | |
| 2018 | Debris and open burning | 58 | 25.7 mi | |
| 2016 | Debris and open burning | 55 | 30.1 mi |
Top 4 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 Millis. 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.