In 2025, fire departments serving Needham responded to 163 fire and hazmat incidents — from cooking fires to gas leaks to a single $100K building blaze. 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 68% of all calls.
Mar peaks. Nov dips. Watch for the typical fall climb starting in October.
891 incidents 2021–2025. Peak year was 2021. $3.7M cumulative property loss. 1 civilian deaths.
| Year | Incidents | YoY | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2021 | 215 | — | |
| 2022 | 154 | -28.4% | |
| 2023 | 171 | +11.0% | |
| 2024 | 188 | +9.9% | |
| 2025 | 163 | -13.3% |
For the 6 building fires Needham departments responded to in 2025, here's how they were classified once investigators were finished.
NFIRS Area of Origin (AREA_ORIG) for the 194 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 | 74 | 38.1% | |
| 2 | Cooking area, kitchen | 18 | 9.3% | |
| 3 | Engine area, running gear, wheel area | 17 | 8.8% | |
| 4 | Undetermined | 17 | 8.8% | |
| 5 | Wildland, woods | 12 | 6.2% | |
| 6 | Vehicle area, other | 10 | 5.2% | |
| 7 | Other | 5 | 2.6% | |
| 8 | Highway, parking lot, street: on or near | 5 | 2.6% | |
| 9 | Chute/container - trash, rubbish, waste | 3 | 1.5% | |
| 10 | Vehicle storage area; garage, carport | 3 | 1.5% | |
| 11 | All other areas | 30 | 15.5% |
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 Needham mix.
| # | Heat source | Count | Share | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Undetermined | 107 | 55.2% | |
| 2 | Heat source: other | 17 | 8.8% | |
| 3 | Heat from powered equipment, other | 17 | 8.8% | |
| 4 | Arcing | 9 | 4.6% | |
| 5 | Cigarette | 9 | 4.6% | |
| 6 | Hot ember or ash | 7 | 3.6% | |
| 7 | Radiated, conducted heat from operating equipment | 6 | 3.1% | |
| 8 | Hot or smoldering object, other | 5 | 2.6% | |
| 9 | Spark, ember or flame from operating equipment | 4 | 2.1% | |
| 10 | Cigarette lighter | 4 | 2.1% | |
| 11 | All other sources | 9 | 4.6% |
Largest single-incident property losses reported by Needham departments in 2025. These 8 fires alone account for 96% of the city's annual total.
| # | Property loss | Type | Severity | Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | $100,000 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
| 2 | $40,000 | Passenger vehicle fire | Significant | Investigated |
| 3 | $30,000 | Passenger vehicle fire | Significant | Investigated |
| 4 | $20,000 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
| 5 | $20,000 | Passenger vehicle fire | Significant | Investigated |
| 6 | $15,000 | Passenger vehicle fire | Significant | Investigated |
| 7 | $10,000 | Dumpster or other outside trash receptacle fire | Significant | Investigated |
| 8 | $5,000 | Cooking fire, confined to container | Significant | Investigated |
Per-capita rates let us compare apples to apples. Needham sits below the national average for incidents per resident.
Top 25 wildfires (1992+) in the FPA-FOD ignitions database, scaled by acres. 3,705 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 | 25.2 mi | |
| 2008 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 700 | 25.2 mi | |
| 2003 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 300 | 3.1 mi | |
| 2002 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 300 | 25.2 mi | |
| 2014 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 256 | 25.2 mi | |
| 2015 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 250 | 25.9 mi | |
| 2007 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 186 | 26.0 mi | |
| 2016 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 172 | 25.2 mi | |
| 2014 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 90 | 21.4 mi | |
| 2020 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 79 | 25.3 mi | |
| 2018 | Debris and open burning | 58 | 24.9 mi | |
| 2016 | Debris and open burning | 55 | 32.1 mi |
Top 3 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 Needham. 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.