In 2025, fire departments serving Milo responded to 29 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 62% of all calls.
Aug peaks. Sep dips. Watch for the typical fall climb starting in October.
166 incidents 2021–2025. Peak year was 2023. $118K cumulative property loss.
| Year | Incidents | YoY | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2021 | 25 | — | |
| 2022 | 36 | +44.0% | |
| 2023 | 39 | +8.3% | |
| 2024 | 37 | -5.1% | |
| 2025 | 29 | -21.6% |
For the 5 building fires Milo departments responded to in 2025, here's how they were classified once investigators were finished.
NFIRS Area of Origin (AREA_ORIG) for the 16 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 | 4 | 25.0% | |
| 2 | Common room, den, family room, living room, lounge | 2 | 12.5% | |
| 3 | Undetermined | 2 | 12.5% | |
| 4 | Exterior stairway, ramp, or fire escape | 1 | 6.2% | |
| 5 | Egress/exit, other | 1 | 6.2% | |
| 6 | Cooking area, kitchen | 1 | 6.2% | |
| 7 | Storage: supplies or tools; dead storage | 1 | 6.2% | |
| 8 | Vehicle storage area; garage, carport | 1 | 6.2% | |
| 9 | Cargo/trunk area - all vehicles | 1 | 6.2% | |
| 10 | Fuel tank, fuel line | 1 | 6.2% | |
| 11 | All other areas | 1 | 6.2% |
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 Milo mix.
| # | Heat source | Count | Share | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Undetermined | 4 | 25.0% | |
| 2 | Radiated, conducted heat from operating equipment | 3 | 18.8% | |
| 3 | Arcing | 3 | 18.8% | |
| 4 | Hot ember or ash | 2 | 12.5% | |
| 5 | Cigarette | 2 | 12.5% | |
| 6 | Spark, ember or flame from operating equipment | 1 | 6.2% | |
| 7 | Radiated heat from another fire | 1 | 6.2% |
Per-capita rates let us compare apples to apples. Milo sits above the national average for incidents per resident.
Top 25 wildfires (1992+) in the FPA-FOD ignitions database, scaled by acres. 1,119 acres burned in this 50-mile radius. Each dot is a fire — bigger dots burned more land.
| Year | Cause | Acres | Distance | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2001 | Railroad operations and maintenance | 97 | 46.8 mi | |
| 2001 | Railroad operations and maintenance | 82 | 47.9 mi | |
| 1994 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 75 | 29.5 mi | |
| 2002 | Arson/incendiarism | 67 | 28.2 mi | |
| 2016 | Debris and open burning | 61 | 9.7 mi | |
| 2001 | Railroad operations and maintenance | 60 | 38.6 mi | |
| 1992 | Debris and open burning | 50 | 43.9 mi | |
| 2015 | Other causes | 50 | 27.7 mi | |
| 2020 | Other causes | 45 | 39.9 mi | |
| 1992 | Debris and open burning | 42 | 40.5 mi | |
| 2018 | Natural | 41 | 49.5 mi | |
| 1995 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 40 | 42.4 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 | 04463 | 166 |
Six Maine cities with population within ±25% of Milo. 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.