Home› Maine› Paris
2025 Annual Fire Report

Fires in Paris, Maine

In 2025, fire departments serving Paris responded to 23 fire and hazmat incidents . Here's the full picture.

Updated Sep 27, 2026 Grade C- Peak yr 2021 Oxford County 5,226 residents 1 reporting departments 645 5-yr

Incomplete 2025 data. Paris's departments reported 23 incidents to NFIRS for 2025, against about 129 in a typical year, so 2025 figures on this page undercount. The 2021–2025 totals are the better guide.

Total incidents
23
Not comparable with 2024 (incomplete reporting)
Building fires
5
Residential 60% Other 40%
Property loss
$0
$0 structure · $0 contents
Deaths & injuries
0 / 0
0 civilian deaths · 0 civ injuries · 0 firefighter injuries
01 The mix

What kinds of fires happen here?

Building fires lead by count. Building fires lead by dollars. Together the top five categories make up about 70% of all calls.

23
Total Incidents
Building fires 5 21.7%
Vehicle accident, general cleanup 5 21.7%
Passenger vehicle fire 2 8.7%
Carbon monoxide incident 2 8.7%
Electrical wiring/equipment problem, other 2 8.7%
All other categories 7 30.4%
02 Seasonality

When do fires happen?

Jan peaks. Mar dips. Watch for the typical fall climb starting in October.

Jan 12
Feb 2
Mar 0
Apr 7
May 0
Jun 0
Jul 0
Aug 0
Sep 1
Oct 0
Nov 1
Dec 0
Fewer
More
2b Five-year trend

Year over year in Paris

645 incidents 2021–2025. Peak year was 2021. 3 civilian deaths.

YearIncidentsYoY 
2021 201 —
2022 181 -10.0%
2023 160 -11.6%
2024 80 -50.0%
2025* 23 —

* Well below Paris'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.

03 Cause of ignition

What sparks building fires?

For the 5 building fires Paris departments responded to in 2025, here's how they were classified once investigators were finished.

Unintentional
100%
2
Cause undetermined
0%
0
Intentional / arson
0%
0
Equipment / heat source failure
0%
0
Under investigation
0%
0
Act of nature (lightning)
0%
0
3b Where fires start

Where do fires start in Paris?

NFIRS Area of Origin (AREA_ORIG) for the 37 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 originCountShare 
1 Outside area, other 10 27.0%
2 Other 9 24.3%
3 Engine area, running gear, wheel area 4 10.8%
4 Operator/passenger area of transportation equip. 3 8.1%
5 Wildland, woods 3 8.1%
6 Storage area, other 2 5.4%
7 Exterior stairway, ramp, or fire escape 1 2.7%
8 Function area, other 1 2.7%
9 Vehicle storage area; garage, carport 1 2.7%
10 Equipment or service area, other 1 2.7%
11 All other areas 2 5.4%
3c What ignited it

What actually ignited the fire?

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 Paris mix.

#Heat sourceCountShare 
1 Heat from powered equipment, other 9 24.3%
2 Hot or smoldering object, other 9 24.3%
3 Undetermined 6 16.2%
4 Spark, ember or flame from operating equipment 3 8.1%
5 Hot ember or ash 2 5.4%
6 Flying brand, ember, spark 2 5.4%
7 Radiated, conducted heat from operating equipment 1 2.7%
8 Arcing 1 2.7%
9 Heat from other open flame or smoking materials 1 2.7%
10 Cigarette 1 2.7%
11 All other sources 2 5.4%
05 How Paris compares

Paris vs Maine vs the nation

Per-capita rates let us compare apples to apples. Paris sits below the national average for incidents per resident.

4.4
Incidents per 1,000 residents
Paris
4.4
ME avg
10.96
US avg
7.48
0.96
Building fires per 1,000 residents
Paris
0.96
ME avg
1.72
US avg
0.85
0
Civilian fire deaths per million
Paris
0
ME avg
3.6
US avg
5.9
5c Wildfires nearby

Wildfires within 50 mi of Paris

Top 25 wildfires (1992+) in the FPA-FOD ignitions database, scaled by acres. 1,720 acres burned in this 50-mile radius. Each dot is a fire — bigger dots burned more land.

50 mi radius
YearCauseAcresDistance 
2016 Missing data/not specified/undetermined 329 40.8 mi
2015 Missing data/not specified/undetermined 275 49.5 mi
2001 Misuse of fire by a minor 236 45.5 mi
2004 Missing data/not specified/undetermined 139 37.1 mi
1992 Arson/incendiarism 64 21.1 mi
1995 Missing data/not specified/undetermined 60 26.9 mi
2002 Recreation and ceremony 57 41.7 mi
2000 Debris and open burning 51 17.0 mi
2016 Natural 43 49.9 mi
2016 Arson/incendiarism 42 49.8 mi
2006 Debris and open burning 40 18.2 mi
2003 Debris and open burning 40 19.0 mi
5d Top ZIPs

Where in Paris do fires concentrate?

Top 3 ZIP codes by NFIRS incident count across 2021–2025. Each ZIP has its own fire profile — dive in for neighborhood-level context.

#ZIP5-yr incidents 
1 04281 623
2 04271 20
3 04001 2
5e Peer cities

Cities similar to Paris

Six Maine cities with population within ±25% of Paris. Useful comparison targets — same state, similar size, different fire profile.

06 First responders

Who responds in Paris?

1 departments report to NFIRS for incidents in Paris.

Paris Fire Department
33 Market Square
FDID I39001 paid
07 Stay prepared

Before the next Red Flag day.

A 30-minute weekend can cut your home's exposure substantially. These four checklists are a good starting point.

About this data

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.