In 2025, fire departments serving Norridgewock responded to 45 fire and hazmat incidents — from cooking fires to gas leaks to a single $1 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 71% of all calls.
Apr peaks. Dec dips. Watch for the typical fall climb starting in October.
301 incidents 2021–2025. Peak year was 2023. $25K cumulative property loss.
| Year | Incidents | YoY | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2021* | 29 | — | |
| 2022 | 68 | — | |
| 2023 | 84 | +23.5% | |
| 2024 | 75 | -10.7% | |
| 2025 | 45 | -40.0% |
* Well below Norridgewock'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 3 building fires Norridgewock departments responded to in 2025, here's how they were classified once investigators were finished.
NFIRS Area of Origin (AREA_ORIG) for the 23 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 | 16 | 69.6% | |
| 2 | Cargo/trunk area - all vehicles | 3 | 13.0% | |
| 3 | Chute/container - trash, rubbish, waste | 1 | 4.3% | |
| 4 | Equipment or service area, other | 1 | 4.3% | |
| 5 | Exterior balcony, unenclosed porch | 1 | 4.3% | |
| 6 | Wall surface: exterior | 1 | 4.3% |
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 Norridgewock mix.
| # | Heat source | Count | Share | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Undetermined | 15 | 65.2% | |
| 2 | Arcing | 3 | 13.0% | |
| 3 | Hot ember or ash | 2 | 8.7% | |
| 4 | Spark, ember or flame from operating equipment | 1 | 4.3% | |
| 5 | Radiated, conducted heat from operating equipment | 1 | 4.3% | |
| 6 | Cigarette lighter | 1 | 4.3% |
Largest single-incident property losses reported by Norridgewock departments in 2025. These 1 fires alone account for 100% of the city's annual total.
| # | Property loss | Type | Severity | Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | $1 | Passenger vehicle fire | Significant | Investigated |
Per-capita rates let us compare apples to apples. Norridgewock sits above the national average for incidents per resident.
Top 25 wildfires (1992+) in the FPA-FOD ignitions database, scaled by acres. 896 acres burned in this 50-mile radius. Each dot is a fire — bigger dots burned more land.
| Year | Cause | Acres | Distance | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2001 | Debris and open burning | 77 | 47.2 mi | |
| 1992 | Arson/incendiarism | 64 | 45.2 mi | |
| 2016 | Debris and open burning | 61 | 48.0 mi | |
| 2002 | Recreation and ceremony | 57 | 31.2 mi | |
| 2015 | Debris and open burning | 48 | 36.9 mi | |
| 2016 | Natural | 43 | 28.7 mi | |
| 2003 | Debris and open burning | 40 | 28.3 mi | |
| 1995 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 40 | 23.6 mi | |
| 1997 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 40 | 21.0 mi | |
| 2006 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 39 | 42.7 mi | |
| 2016 | Misuse of fire by a minor | 35 | 42.0 mi | |
| 2006 | Debris and open burning | 34 | 47.8 mi |
Top 2 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 Norridgewock. 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.