In 2025, fire departments serving Milton responded to 231 fire and hazmat incidents . Here's the full picture.
Gas leak (natural gas or LPG) lead by count. Building fires lead by dollars. Together the top five categories make up about 53% of all calls.
Apr peaks. Sep dips. Watch for the typical fall climb starting in October.
1,133 incidents 2021–2025. Peak year was 2021. $7.4M cumulative property loss.
| Year | Incidents | YoY | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2021 | 286 | — | |
| 2022 | 231 | -19.2% | |
| 2023 | 225 | -2.6% | |
| 2024 | 160 | -28.9% | |
| 2025 | 231 | +44.4% |
For the 12 building fires Milton departments responded to in 2025, here's how they were classified once investigators were finished.
NFIRS Area of Origin (AREA_ORIG) for the 203 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 | Undetermined | 37 | 18.2% | |
| 2 | Engine area, running gear, wheel area | 34 | 16.7% | |
| 3 | Outside area, other | 32 | 15.8% | |
| 4 | Wildland, woods | 17 | 8.4% | |
| 5 | Cooking area, kitchen | 14 | 6.9% | |
| 6 | Open area - outside; included are farmland, field | 9 | 4.4% | |
| 7 | Bedroom - < 5 persons; included are jail or prison | 7 | 3.4% | |
| 8 | Exterior balcony, unenclosed porch | 4 | 2.0% | |
| 9 | Wall assembly | 4 | 2.0% | |
| 10 | Vehicle area, other | 4 | 2.0% | |
| 11 | All other areas | 41 | 20.2% |
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 Milton mix.
| # | Heat source | Count | Share | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Undetermined | 100 | 49.3% | |
| 2 | Hot or smoldering object, other | 19 | 9.4% | |
| 3 | Arcing | 17 | 8.4% | |
| 4 | Heat from powered equipment, other | 13 | 6.4% | |
| 5 | Heat source: other | 10 | 4.9% | |
| 6 | Hot ember or ash | 9 | 4.4% | |
| 7 | Heat from other open flame or smoking materials | 7 | 3.4% | |
| 8 | Radiated, conducted heat from operating equipment | 6 | 3.0% | |
| 9 | Spark, ember or flame from operating equipment | 5 | 2.5% | |
| 10 | Match | 4 | 2.0% | |
| 11 | All other sources | 13 | 6.4% |
Per-capita rates let us compare apples to apples. Milton sits above the national average for incidents per resident.
Top 25 wildfires (1992+) in the FPA-FOD ignitions database, scaled by acres. 3,790 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 | 33.4 mi | |
| 2008 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 700 | 33.4 mi | |
| 2003 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 300 | 5.7 mi | |
| 2002 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 300 | 33.4 mi | |
| 2014 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 256 | 33.4 mi | |
| 2015 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 250 | 34.1 mi | |
| 2007 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 186 | 26.4 mi | |
| 2016 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 172 | 33.4 mi | |
| 2016 | Natural | 120 | 45.8 mi | |
| 2014 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 90 | 19.3 mi | |
| 2020 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 79 | 33.6 mi | |
| 2018 | Debris and open burning | 58 | 33.3 mi |
Top 8 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 Milton. 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.