In 2025, fire departments serving North Westport responded to 105 fire and hazmat incidents — from cooking fires to gas leaks to a single $20K building blaze. Here's the full picture.
Unauthorized burning lead by count. Building fires lead by dollars. Together the top five categories make up about 59% of all calls.
Aug peaks. Sep dips. Watch for the typical fall climb starting in October.
526 incidents 2021–2025. Peak year was 2024. $709K cumulative property loss.
| Year | Incidents | YoY | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2021 | 110 | — | |
| 2022 | 73 | -33.6% | |
| 2023 | 117 | +60.3% | |
| 2024 | 121 | +3.4% | |
| 2025 | 105 | -13.2% |
For the 4 building fires North Westport departments responded to in 2025, here's how they were classified once investigators were finished.
NFIRS Area of Origin (AREA_ORIG) for the 83 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 | Engine area, running gear, wheel area | 24 | 28.9% | |
| 2 | Undetermined | 8 | 9.6% | |
| 3 | Cooking area, kitchen | 7 | 8.4% | |
| 4 | Exterior, exposed surface | 6 | 7.2% | |
| 5 | Vehicle area, other | 5 | 6.0% | |
| 6 | Outside area, other | 5 | 6.0% | |
| 7 | Wall surface: exterior | 3 | 3.6% | |
| 8 | Other | 2 | 2.4% | |
| 9 | Common room, den, family room, living room, lounge | 2 | 2.4% | |
| 10 | Bedroom - < 5 persons; included are jail or prison | 2 | 2.4% | |
| 11 | All other areas | 19 | 22.9% |
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 Westport mix.
| # | Heat source | Count | Share | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Undetermined | 18 | 21.7% | |
| 2 | Spark, ember or flame from operating equipment | 10 | 12.0% | |
| 3 | Radiated, conducted heat from operating equipment | 10 | 12.0% | |
| 4 | Heat from powered equipment, other | 9 | 10.8% | |
| 5 | Arcing | 7 | 8.4% | |
| 6 | Heat source: other | 5 | 6.0% | |
| 7 | Heat from direct flame, convection currents | 5 | 6.0% | |
| 8 | Hot or smoldering object, other | 4 | 4.8% | |
| 9 | Heat, spark from friction | 2 | 2.4% | |
| 10 | Hot ember or ash | 2 | 2.4% | |
| 11 | All other sources | 11 | 13.3% |
Largest single-incident property losses reported by North Westport departments in 2025. These 8 fires alone account for 100% of the city's annual total.
| # | Property loss | Type | Severity | Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | $20,000 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
| 2 | $15,000 | Road freight or transport vehicle fire | Significant | Investigated |
| 3 | $3,000 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
| 4 | $2,000 | Passenger vehicle fire | Significant | Investigated |
| 5 | $1,500 | Fires in structures other than in a building | Significant | Investigated |
| 6 | $1,000 | Chimney or flue fire, confined to chimney or flue | Significant | Investigated |
| 7 | $200 | Trash or rubbish fire, contained | Significant | Investigated |
| 8 | $200 | Cooking fire, confined to container | Significant | Investigated |
Per-capita rates let us compare apples to apples. North Westport sits above the national average for incidents per resident.
Top 25 wildfires (1992+) in the FPA-FOD ignitions database, scaled by acres. 1,034 acres burned in this 50-mile radius. Each dot is a fire — bigger dots burned more land.
| Year | Cause | Acres | Distance | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2003 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 300 | 43.6 mi | |
| 2016 | Natural | 120 | 29.7 mi | |
| 2016 | Debris and open burning | 55 | 17.9 mi | |
| 1997 | Debris and open burning | 40 | 48.1 mi | |
| 2008 | Misuse of fire by a minor | 40 | 44.9 mi | |
| 2001 | Debris and open burning | 35 | 38.2 mi | |
| 2010 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 30 | 40.8 mi | |
| 1999 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 30 | 45.8 mi | |
| 1999 | Arson/incendiarism | 30 | 44.9 mi | |
| 1992 | Recreation and ceremony | 30 | 46.0 mi | |
| 2019 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 30 | 43.4 mi | |
| 2017 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 29 | 31.2 mi |
Top 1 ZIP codes by NFIRS incident count across 2021–2025. Each ZIP has its own fire profile — dive in for neighborhood-level context.
| # | ZIP | 5-yr incidents | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 02790 | 526 |
Six Massachusetts cities with population within ±25% of North Westport. 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.