In 2025, fire departments serving New Marlborough responded to 14 fire and hazmat incidents . Here's the full picture.
Power line down lead by count. Building fires lead by dollars. Together the top five categories make up about 86% of all calls.
Mar peaks. Jan dips. Watch for the typical fall climb starting in October.
78 incidents 2021–2025. Peak year was 2024. $20K cumulative property loss.
| Year | Incidents | YoY | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2021 | 15 | — | |
| 2022 | 15 | +0.0% | |
| 2023 | 12 | -20.0% | |
| 2024 | 22 | +83.3% | |
| 2025 | 14 | -36.4% |
For the 0 building fires New Marlborough departments responded to in 2025, here's how they were classified once investigators were finished.
NFIRS Area of Origin (AREA_ORIG) for the 7 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 | 2 | 28.6% | |
| 2 | Other | 1 | 14.3% | |
| 3 | Chute/container - trash, rubbish, waste | 1 | 14.3% | |
| 4 | Vehicle area, other | 1 | 14.3% | |
| 5 | Engine area, running gear, wheel area | 1 | 14.3% | |
| 6 | Open area - outside; included are farmland, field | 1 | 14.3% |
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 Marlborough mix.
| # | Heat source | Count | Share | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Undetermined | 4 | 57.1% | |
| 2 | Heat from powered equipment, other | 1 | 14.3% | |
| 3 | Radiated, conducted heat from operating equipment | 1 | 14.3% | |
| 4 | Heat spread from another fire, other | 1 | 14.3% |
Per-capita rates let us compare apples to apples. New Marlborough sits above the national average for incidents per resident.
Top 25 wildfires (1992+) in the FPA-FOD ignitions database, scaled by acres. 5,467 acres burned in this 50-mile radius. Each dot is a fire — bigger dots burned more land.
| Year | Cause | Acres | Distance | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2008 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 1,300 | 23.8 mi | |
| 2001 | Smoking | 550 | 33.5 mi | |
| 2016 | Natural | 384 | 22.7 mi | |
| 2010 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 321 | 22.5 mi | |
| 2001 | Recreation and ceremony | 285 | 28.7 mi | |
| 2015 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 272 | 43.0 mi | |
| 2001 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 250 | 37.9 mi | |
| 1994 | Misuse of fire by a minor | 180 | 30.7 mi | |
| 1994 | Misuse of fire by a minor | 180 | 30.7 mi | |
| 1999 | Arson/incendiarism | 175 | 43.6 mi | |
| 2008 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 175 | 26.9 mi | |
| 2017 | Recreation and ceremony | 154 | 31.1 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 New Marlborough. 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.