In 2025, fire departments serving Oak Bluffs responded to 51 fire and hazmat incidents — from cooking fires to gas leaks to a single $350K 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 69% of all calls.
Jul peaks. Jan dips. Watch for the typical fall climb starting in October.
244 incidents 2021–2025. Peak year was 2023. $3.4M cumulative property loss.
| Year | Incidents | YoY | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2021* | 26 | — | |
| 2022* | 6 | — | |
| 2023 | 82 | — | |
| 2024 | 79 | -3.7% | |
| 2025 | 51 | -35.4% |
* Well below Oak Bluffs'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 Oak Bluffs 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 | Engine area, running gear, wheel area | 5 | 13.2% | |
| 2 | Undetermined | 5 | 13.2% | |
| 3 | Outside area, other | 4 | 10.5% | |
| 4 | Wildland, woods | 4 | 10.5% | |
| 5 | Common room, den, family room, living room, lounge | 3 | 7.9% | |
| 6 | Cooking area, kitchen | 3 | 7.9% | |
| 7 | Wall surface: exterior | 2 | 5.3% | |
| 8 | Courtyard, patio, porch, terrace | 2 | 5.3% | |
| 9 | Other | 1 | 2.6% | |
| 10 | Assembly area - less than 100 persons | 1 | 2.6% | |
| 11 | All other areas | 8 | 21.1% |
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 Oak Bluffs mix.
| # | Heat source | Count | Share | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Undetermined | 15 | 39.5% | |
| 2 | Spark, ember or flame from operating equipment | 3 | 7.9% | |
| 3 | Radiated, conducted heat from operating equipment | 3 | 7.9% | |
| 4 | Hot ember or ash | 3 | 7.9% | |
| 5 | Heat from direct flame, convection currents | 3 | 7.9% | |
| 6 | Arcing | 2 | 5.3% | |
| 7 | Cigarette lighter | 2 | 5.3% | |
| 8 | Chemical reaction | 2 | 5.3% | |
| 9 | Heat from powered equipment, other | 1 | 2.6% | |
| 10 | Hot or smoldering object, other | 1 | 2.6% | |
| 11 | All other sources | 3 | 7.9% |
Largest single-incident property losses reported by Oak Bluffs departments in 2025. These 2 fires alone account for 100% of the city's annual total.
| # | Property loss | Type | Severity | Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | $350,000 | Building fires | Major | Investigated |
| 2 | $6,593 | Passenger vehicle fire | Significant | Investigated |
Per-capita rates let us compare apples to apples. Oak Bluffs sits above the national average for incidents per resident.
Top 17 wildfires (1992+) in the FPA-FOD ignitions database, scaled by acres. 378 acres burned in this 50-mile radius. Each dot is a fire — bigger dots burned more land.
| Year | Cause | Acres | Distance | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2016 | Natural | 120 | 20.2 mi | |
| 2016 | Debris and open burning | 55 | 35.4 mi | |
| 2017 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 29 | 9.5 mi | |
| 2016 | Equipment and vehicle use | 20 | 33.1 mi | |
| 2015 | Recreation and ceremony | 15 | 19.4 mi | |
| 2017 | Misuse of fire by a minor | 15 | 37.4 mi | |
| 2005 | Arson/incendiarism | 15 | 49.9 mi | |
| 2003 | Arson/incendiarism | 13 | 23.8 mi | |
| 2015 | Recreation and ceremony | 13 | 19.9 mi | |
| 2006 | Arson/incendiarism | 12 | 47.6 mi | |
| 2017 | Arson/incendiarism | 11 | 21.1 mi | |
| 2006 | Arson/incendiarism | 10 | 47.6 mi |
Top 4 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 Oak Bluffs. 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.