In 2025, fire departments serving New Gloucester responded to 66 fire and hazmat incidents — from cooking fires to gas leaks to a single $100K building blaze. Here's the full picture.
Biological hazard, confirmed or suspected lead by count. Building fires lead by dollars. Together the top five categories make up about 50% of all calls.
Oct peaks. Dec dips. Watch for the typical fall climb starting in October.
399 incidents 2021–2025. Peak year was 2024. $1.1M cumulative property loss.
| Year | Incidents | YoY | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2021* | 9 | — | |
| 2022 | 82 | — | |
| 2023 | 101 | +23.2% | |
| 2024 | 141 | +39.6% | |
| 2025 | 66 | -53.2% |
* Well below New Gloucester's usual volume. That almost always means one or more departments didn't submit a full year to NFIRS, not that fires dropped, so no year-over-year change is shown for it.
For the 7 building fires New Gloucester departments responded to in 2025, here's how they were classified once investigators were finished.
NFIRS Area of Origin (AREA_ORIG) for the 53 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 | Open area - outside; included are farmland, field | 9 | 17.0% | |
| 2 | Engine area, running gear, wheel area | 7 | 13.2% | |
| 3 | Wildland, woods | 6 | 11.3% | |
| 4 | Cooking area, kitchen | 3 | 5.7% | |
| 5 | Duct: hvac, cable, exhaust, heating, or AC | 3 | 5.7% | |
| 6 | Vehicle area, other | 3 | 5.7% | |
| 7 | Outside area, other | 3 | 5.7% | |
| 8 | Other | 2 | 3.8% | |
| 9 | Vehicle storage area; garage, carport | 2 | 3.8% | |
| 10 | Undetermined | 2 | 3.8% | |
| 11 | All other areas | 13 | 24.5% |
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 New Gloucester mix.
| # | Heat source | Count | Share | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Undetermined | 11 | 20.8% | |
| 2 | Spark, ember or flame from operating equipment | 7 | 13.2% | |
| 3 | Hot ember or ash | 7 | 13.2% | |
| 4 | Arcing | 4 | 7.5% | |
| 5 | Heat from powered equipment, other | 3 | 5.7% | |
| 6 | Cigarette lighter | 3 | 5.7% | |
| 7 | Heat, spark from friction | 2 | 3.8% | |
| 8 | Fireworks | 2 | 3.8% | |
| 9 | Heat from other open flame or smoking materials | 2 | 3.8% | |
| 10 | Cigarette | 2 | 3.8% | |
| 11 | All other sources | 10 | 18.9% |
Largest single-incident property losses reported by New Gloucester departments in 2025. These 8 fires alone account for 97% of the city's annual total.
| # | Property loss | Type | Severity | Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | $100,000 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
| 2 | $40,000 | Off-road vehicle or heavy equipment fire | Significant | Investigated |
| 3 | $35,000 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
| 4 | $20,000 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
| 5 | $20,000 | Passenger vehicle fire | Significant | Investigated |
| 6 | $12,000 | Passenger vehicle fire | Significant | Investigated |
| 7 | $10,000 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
| 8 | $9,943 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
Per-capita rates let us compare apples to apples. New Gloucester sits above the national average for incidents per resident.
Top 25 wildfires (1992+) in the FPA-FOD ignitions database, scaled by acres. 1,797 acres burned in this 50-mile radius. Each dot is a fire — bigger dots burned more land.
| Year | Cause | Acres | Distance | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2016 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 329 | 47.0 mi | |
| 2018 | Debris and open burning | 314 | 43.8 mi | |
| 2001 | Misuse of fire by a minor | 236 | 24.6 mi | |
| 2004 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 139 | 45.4 mi | |
| 1992 | Arson/incendiarism | 64 | 42.7 mi | |
| 1995 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 60 | 37.3 mi | |
| 2002 | Recreation and ceremony | 57 | 39.3 mi | |
| 2000 | Debris and open burning | 51 | 35.5 mi | |
| 2016 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 50 | 48.8 mi | |
| 2016 | Arson/incendiarism | 42 | 30.3 mi | |
| 2009 | Debris and open burning | 40 | 43.9 mi | |
| 2006 | Debris and open burning | 40 | 37.9 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 Maine cities with population within ±25% of New Gloucester. Useful comparison targets — same state, similar size, different fire profile.
1 departments report to NFIRS for incidents in New Gloucester.
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.