In 2025, fire departments serving Monroe responded to 10 fire and hazmat incidents . Here's the full picture.
Off-road vehicle or heavy equipment fire lead by count. Building fires lead by dollars. Together the top five categories make up about 70% of all calls.
Aug peaks. Feb dips. Watch for the typical fall climb starting in October.
83 incidents 2021–2025. Peak year was 2023. $10K cumulative property loss.
| Year | Incidents | YoY | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2021 | 12 | — | |
| 2022 | 16 | +33.3% | |
| 2023 | 28 | +75.0% | |
| 2024 | 17 | -39.3% | |
| 2025 | 10 | -41.2% |
For the 0 building fires Monroe departments responded to in 2025, here's how they were classified once investigators were finished.
NFIRS Area of Origin (AREA_ORIG) for the 14 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 | 5 | 35.7% | |
| 2 | Engine area, running gear, wheel area | 3 | 21.4% | |
| 3 | Vehicle storage area; garage, carport | 2 | 14.3% | |
| 4 | Conduit, pipe, utility, or ventilation shaft | 1 | 7.1% | |
| 5 | Equipment or service area, other | 1 | 7.1% | |
| 6 | Wall assembly | 1 | 7.1% | |
| 7 | Wall surface: exterior | 1 | 7.1% |
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 Monroe mix.
| # | Heat source | Count | Share | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Undetermined | 7 | 50.0% | |
| 2 | Spark, ember or flame from operating equipment | 1 | 7.1% | |
| 3 | Radiated, conducted heat from operating equipment | 1 | 7.1% | |
| 4 | Arcing | 1 | 7.1% | |
| 5 | Hot ember or ash | 1 | 7.1% | |
| 6 | Backfire from internal combustion engine | 1 | 7.1% | |
| 7 | Lightning | 1 | 7.1% | |
| 8 | Radiated heat from another fire | 1 | 7.1% |
Per-capita rates let us compare apples to apples. Monroe sits above the national average for incidents per resident.
Top 25 wildfires (1992+) in the FPA-FOD ignitions database, scaled by acres. 1,028 acres burned in this 50-mile radius. Each dot is a fire — bigger dots burned more land.
| Year | Cause | Acres | Distance | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2003 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 124 | 45.9 mi | |
| 1994 | Misuse of fire by a minor | 100 | 43.3 mi | |
| 2001 | Debris and open burning | 77 | 17.0 mi | |
| 2016 | Debris and open burning | 61 | 45.5 mi | |
| 2002 | Recreation and ceremony | 57 | 36.9 mi | |
| 1992 | Debris and open burning | 50 | 19.1 mi | |
| 2015 | Debris and open burning | 48 | 18.8 mi | |
| 1992 | Debris and open burning | 42 | 39.1 mi | |
| 1995 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 40 | 15.5 mi | |
| 1997 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 40 | 35.0 mi | |
| 2016 | Misuse of fire by a minor | 35 | 8.8 mi | |
| 2006 | Debris and open burning | 34 | 30.9 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 | 04951 | 83 |
Six Maine cities with population within ±25% of Monroe. 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.