In 2025, fire departments serving Oxford responded to 71 fire and hazmat incidents . Here's the full picture.
Building fires lead by count. Building fires lead by dollars. Together the top five categories make up about 47% of all calls.
Aug peaks. Nov dips. Watch for the typical fall climb starting in October.
527 incidents 2021–2025. Peak year was 2022. $241K cumulative property loss.
| Year | Incidents | YoY | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2021 | 97 | — | |
| 2022 | 152 | +56.7% | |
| 2023 | 104 | -31.6% | |
| 2024 | 103 | -1.0% | |
| 2025 | 71 | -31.1% |
For the 10 building fires Oxford departments responded to in 2025, here's how they were classified once investigators were finished.
NFIRS Area of Origin (AREA_ORIG) for the 129 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 | Wildland, woods | 17 | 13.2% | |
| 2 | Outside area, other | 15 | 11.6% | |
| 3 | Cooking area, kitchen | 11 | 8.5% | |
| 4 | Engine area, running gear, wheel area | 10 | 7.8% | |
| 5 | Other | 8 | 6.2% | |
| 6 | Structural area, other | 7 | 5.4% | |
| 7 | Open area - outside; included are farmland, field | 7 | 5.4% | |
| 8 | Substructure area or space, crawl space | 5 | 3.9% | |
| 9 | Vehicle area, other | 5 | 3.9% | |
| 10 | Fuel tank, fuel line | 5 | 3.9% | |
| 11 | All other areas | 39 | 30.2% |
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 Oxford mix.
| # | Heat source | Count | Share | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Undetermined | 36 | 27.9% | |
| 2 | Arcing | 14 | 10.9% | |
| 3 | Hot ember or ash | 11 | 8.5% | |
| 4 | Spark, ember or flame from operating equipment | 10 | 7.8% | |
| 5 | Hot or smoldering object, other | 10 | 7.8% | |
| 6 | Heat from powered equipment, other | 6 | 4.7% | |
| 7 | Cigarette | 6 | 4.7% | |
| 8 | Cigarette lighter | 6 | 4.7% | |
| 9 | Heat source: other | 5 | 3.9% | |
| 10 | Radiated, conducted heat from operating equipment | 4 | 3.1% | |
| 11 | All other sources | 21 | 16.3% |
Per-capita rates let us compare apples to apples. Oxford sits above the national average for incidents per resident.
Top 25 wildfires (1992+) in the FPA-FOD ignitions database, scaled by acres. 1,710 acres burned in this 50-mile radius. Each dot is a fire — bigger dots burned more land.
| Year | Cause | Acres | Distance | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2016 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 329 | 39.1 mi | |
| 2015 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 275 | 45.9 mi | |
| 2001 | Misuse of fire by a minor | 236 | 38.7 mi | |
| 2004 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 139 | 36.1 mi | |
| 1992 | Arson/incendiarism | 64 | 27.7 mi | |
| 1995 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 60 | 26.4 mi | |
| 2002 | Recreation and ceremony | 57 | 42.3 mi | |
| 2000 | Debris and open burning | 51 | 20.6 mi | |
| 2016 | Arson/incendiarism | 42 | 42.9 mi | |
| 2006 | Debris and open burning | 40 | 22.7 mi | |
| 2003 | Debris and open burning | 40 | 23.6 mi | |
| 2006 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 39 | 11.9 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 Maine cities with population within ±25% of Oxford. Useful comparison targets — same state, similar size, different fire profile.
1 departments report to NFIRS for incidents in Oxford.
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.