In 2025, fire departments serving North Brookfield responded to 48 fire and hazmat incidents — from cooking fires to gas leaks to a single $75K building blaze. Here's the full picture.
Attempted burning, illegal action, other lead by count. Building fires lead by dollars. Together the top five categories make up about 67% of all calls.
Jan peaks. Oct dips. Watch for the typical fall climb starting in October.
271 incidents 2021–2025. Peak year was 2024. $874K cumulative property loss.
| Year | Incidents | YoY | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2021 | 50 | — | |
| 2022 | 55 | +10.0% | |
| 2023 | 56 | +1.8% | |
| 2024 | 62 | +10.7% | |
| 2025 | 48 | -22.6% |
For the 4 building fires North Brookfield departments responded to in 2025, here's how they were classified once investigators were finished.
NFIRS Area of Origin (AREA_ORIG) for the 48 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 | 14 | 29.2% | |
| 2 | Other | 9 | 18.8% | |
| 3 | Undetermined | 4 | 8.3% | |
| 4 | Highway, parking lot, street: on or near | 3 | 6.2% | |
| 5 | Wildland, woods | 3 | 6.2% | |
| 6 | Engine area, running gear, wheel area | 2 | 4.2% | |
| 7 | Open area - outside; included are farmland, field | 2 | 4.2% | |
| 8 | Bedroom - < 5 persons; included are jail or prison | 1 | 2.1% | |
| 9 | Bedroom - 5+ persons; including barrack/dormitory | 1 | 2.1% | |
| 10 | Cooking area, kitchen | 1 | 2.1% | |
| 11 | All other areas | 8 | 16.7% |
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 North Brookfield mix.
| # | Heat source | Count | Share | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Undetermined | 16 | 33.3% | |
| 2 | Heat from powered equipment, other | 7 | 14.6% | |
| 3 | Arcing | 7 | 14.6% | |
| 4 | Flying brand, ember, spark | 5 | 10.4% | |
| 5 | Cigarette | 3 | 6.2% | |
| 6 | Hot ember or ash | 2 | 4.2% | |
| 7 | Heat source: other | 1 | 2.1% | |
| 8 | Spark, ember or flame from operating equipment | 1 | 2.1% | |
| 9 | Radiated, conducted heat from operating equipment | 1 | 2.1% | |
| 10 | Hot or smoldering object, other | 1 | 2.1% | |
| 11 | All other sources | 4 | 8.3% |
Largest single-incident property losses reported by North Brookfield departments in 2025. These 1 fires alone account for 100% of the city's annual total.
| # | Property loss | Type | Severity | Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | $75,000 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
Per-capita rates let us compare apples to apples. North Brookfield sits above the national average for incidents per resident.
Top 25 wildfires (1992+) in the FPA-FOD ignitions database, scaled by acres. 4,256 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 | 27.3 mi | |
| 2008 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 700 | 27.3 mi | |
| 2010 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 321 | 38.2 mi | |
| 2003 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 300 | 45.9 mi | |
| 2002 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 300 | 27.3 mi | |
| 2014 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 256 | 27.2 mi | |
| 2001 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 250 | 24.2 mi | |
| 2015 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 250 | 27.2 mi | |
| 2016 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 172 | 27.4 mi | |
| 2004 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 120 | 24.0 mi | |
| 2020 | Recreation and ceremony | 94 | 37.3 mi | |
| 2020 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 79 | 27.1 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 North Brookfield. 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.