In 2025, fire departments serving Norwood responded to 199 fire and hazmat incidents — from cooking fires to gas leaks to a single $5K building blaze. Here's the full picture.
Gas leak (natural gas or LPG) lead by count. Building fires lead by dollars. Together the top five categories make up about 55% of all calls.
Jun peaks. Dec dips. Watch for the typical fall climb starting in October.
1,395 incidents 2021–2025. Peak year was 2021. $4.4M cumulative property loss.
| Year | Incidents | YoY | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2021 | 330 | — | |
| 2022 | 328 | -0.6% | |
| 2023 | 269 | -18.0% | |
| 2024 | 269 | +0.0% | |
| 2025 | 199 | -26.0% |
For the 1 building fires Norwood departments responded to in 2025, here's how they were classified once investigators were finished.
NFIRS Area of Origin (AREA_ORIG) for the 253 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 | 67 | 26.5% | |
| 2 | Outside area, other | 41 | 16.2% | |
| 3 | Other | 17 | 6.7% | |
| 4 | Engine area, running gear, wheel area | 17 | 6.7% | |
| 5 | Cooking area, kitchen | 15 | 5.9% | |
| 6 | Highway, parking lot, street: on or near | 13 | 5.1% | |
| 7 | Wildland, woods | 8 | 3.2% | |
| 8 | Exterior balcony, unenclosed porch | 6 | 2.4% | |
| 9 | Railroad right of way: on or near | 6 | 2.4% | |
| 10 | Bedroom - < 5 persons; included are jail or prison | 5 | 2.0% | |
| 11 | All other areas | 58 | 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 Norwood mix.
| # | Heat source | Count | Share | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Undetermined | 147 | 58.1% | |
| 2 | Heat from powered equipment, other | 16 | 6.3% | |
| 3 | Hot or smoldering object, other | 16 | 6.3% | |
| 4 | Cigarette | 13 | 5.1% | |
| 5 | Radiated, conducted heat from operating equipment | 11 | 4.3% | |
| 6 | Heat source: other | 9 | 3.6% | |
| 7 | Hot ember or ash | 9 | 3.6% | |
| 8 | Arcing | 7 | 2.8% | |
| 9 | Spark, ember or flame from operating equipment | 6 | 2.4% | |
| 10 | Match | 3 | 1.2% | |
| 11 | All other sources | 16 | 6.3% |
Largest single-incident property losses reported by Norwood departments in 2025. These 7 fires alone account for 100% of the city's annual total.
| # | Property loss | Type | Severity | Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | $5,000 | Fires in structures other than in a building | Significant | Investigated |
| 2 | $1,000 | Fire, other | Significant | Investigated |
| 3 | $1,000 | Cooking fire, confined to container | Significant | Investigated |
| 4 | $1,000 | Fire, other | Significant | Investigated |
| 5 | $1,000 | Fire, other | Significant | Investigated |
| 6 | $1,000 | Cooking fire, confined to container | Significant | Investigated |
| 7 | $500 | Cooking fire, confined to container | Significant | Investigated |
Per-capita rates let us compare apples to apples. Norwood sits below the national average for incidents per resident.
Top 25 wildfires (1992+) in the FPA-FOD ignitions database, scaled by acres. 3,800 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 | 31.3 mi | |
| 2008 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 700 | 31.3 mi | |
| 2003 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 300 | 6.7 mi | |
| 2002 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 300 | 31.3 mi | |
| 2014 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 256 | 31.2 mi | |
| 2015 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 250 | 31.9 mi | |
| 2007 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 186 | 31.3 mi | |
| 2016 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 172 | 31.3 mi | |
| 2016 | Natural | 120 | 46.9 mi | |
| 2014 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 90 | 25.2 mi | |
| 2020 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 79 | 31.4 mi | |
| 2018 | Debris and open burning | 58 | 30.7 mi |
Top 6 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 Norwood. 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.