In 2025, fire departments serving North Falmouth responded to 39 fire and hazmat incidents — from cooking fires to gas leaks to a single $50K building blaze. Here's the full picture.
Carbon monoxide incident lead by count. Building fires lead by dollars. Together the top five categories make up about 51% of all calls.
Jul peaks. May dips. Watch for the typical fall climb starting in October.
179 incidents 2021–2025. Peak year was 2022. $790K cumulative property loss.
| Year | Incidents | YoY | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2021 | 32 | — | |
| 2022 | 43 | +34.4% | |
| 2023 | 24 | -44.2% | |
| 2024 | 41 | +70.8% | |
| 2025 | 39 | -4.9% |
For the 3 building fires North Falmouth departments responded to in 2025, here's how they were classified once investigators were finished.
NFIRS Area of Origin (AREA_ORIG) for the 38 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 | 6 | 15.8% | |
| 2 | Cooking area, kitchen | 5 | 13.2% | |
| 3 | Outside area, other | 5 | 13.2% | |
| 4 | Engine area, running gear, wheel area | 4 | 10.5% | |
| 5 | Substructure area or space, crawl space | 3 | 7.9% | |
| 6 | Undetermined | 3 | 7.9% | |
| 7 | Exterior, exposed surface | 2 | 5.3% | |
| 8 | Other | 1 | 2.6% | |
| 9 | Laundry area, wash house (laundry) | 1 | 2.6% | |
| 10 | Chute/container - trash, rubbish, waste | 1 | 2.6% | |
| 11 | All other areas | 7 | 18.4% |
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 Falmouth mix.
| # | Heat source | Count | Share | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Undetermined | 10 | 26.3% | |
| 2 | Arcing | 8 | 21.1% | |
| 3 | Radiated, conducted heat from operating equipment | 5 | 13.2% | |
| 4 | Hot ember or ash | 3 | 7.9% | |
| 5 | Cigarette | 3 | 7.9% | |
| 6 | Spark, ember or flame from operating equipment | 2 | 5.3% | |
| 7 | Heat from other open flame or smoking materials | 2 | 5.3% | |
| 8 | Heat from powered equipment, other | 1 | 2.6% | |
| 9 | Hot or smoldering object, other | 1 | 2.6% | |
| 10 | Molten, hot material | 1 | 2.6% | |
| 11 | All other sources | 2 | 5.3% |
Largest single-incident property losses reported by North Falmouth departments in 2025. These 4 fires alone account for 100% of the city's annual total.
| # | Property loss | Type | Severity | Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | $50,000 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
| 2 | $25,000 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
| 3 | $10,000 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
| 4 | $200 | Dumpster or other outside trash receptacle fire | Significant | Investigated |
Per-capita rates let us compare apples to apples. North Falmouth sits above the national average for incidents per resident.
Top 25 wildfires (1992+) in the FPA-FOD ignitions database, scaled by acres. 506 acres burned in this 50-mile radius. Each dot is a fire — bigger dots burned more land.
| Year | Cause | Acres | Distance | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2016 | Natural | 120 | 7.9 mi | |
| 2016 | Debris and open burning | 55 | 22.7 mi | |
| 2017 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 29 | 8.4 mi | |
| 2015 | Recreation and ceremony | 26 | 46.5 mi | |
| 2017 | Arson/incendiarism | 21 | 42.0 mi | |
| 2016 | Equipment and vehicle use | 20 | 24.7 mi | |
| 2015 | Recreation and ceremony | 16 | 46.8 mi | |
| 2015 | Recreation and ceremony | 15 | 9.3 mi | |
| 2017 | Misuse of fire by a minor | 15 | 24.7 mi | |
| 2005 | Arson/incendiarism | 15 | 36.6 mi | |
| 2015 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 14 | 48.7 mi | |
| 2015 | Recreation and ceremony | 14 | 41.1 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 Massachusetts cities with population within ±25% of North Falmouth. 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.