In 2025, fire departments serving Paxton responded to 64 fire and hazmat incidents — from cooking fires to gas leaks to a single $200K building blaze. Here's the full picture.
Building fires lead by count. Building fires lead by dollars. Together the top five categories make up about 69% of all calls.
Nov peaks. Sep dips. Watch for the typical fall climb starting in October.
232 incidents 2021–2025. Peak year was 2025. $804K cumulative property loss.
| Year | Incidents | YoY | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2021 | 32 | — | |
| 2022 | 46 | +43.8% | |
| 2023 | 50 | +8.7% | |
| 2024 | 40 | -20.0% | |
| 2025 | 64 | +60.0% |
For the 11 building fires Paxton departments responded to in 2025, here's how they were classified once investigators were finished.
NFIRS Area of Origin (AREA_ORIG) for the 46 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 | 10 | 21.7% | |
| 2 | Outside area, other | 8 | 17.4% | |
| 3 | Cooking area, kitchen | 5 | 10.9% | |
| 4 | Open area - outside; included are farmland, field | 5 | 10.9% | |
| 5 | Common room, den, family room, living room, lounge | 4 | 8.7% | |
| 6 | Laundry area, wash house (laundry) | 3 | 6.5% | |
| 7 | Attic: vacant, crawl space above top story, cupola | 2 | 4.3% | |
| 8 | Bedroom - 5+ persons; including barrack/dormitory | 1 | 2.2% | |
| 9 | Storage area, other | 1 | 2.2% | |
| 10 | Vehicle storage area; garage, carport | 1 | 2.2% | |
| 11 | All other areas | 6 | 13.0% |
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 Paxton mix.
| # | Heat source | Count | Share | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Heat from powered equipment, other | 10 | 21.7% | |
| 2 | Undetermined | 8 | 17.4% | |
| 3 | Heat from other open flame or smoking materials | 4 | 8.7% | |
| 4 | Chemical reaction | 4 | 8.7% | |
| 5 | Heat source: other | 3 | 6.5% | |
| 6 | Spark, ember or flame from operating equipment | 3 | 6.5% | |
| 7 | Hot ember or ash | 3 | 6.5% | |
| 8 | Radiated, conducted heat from operating equipment | 2 | 4.3% | |
| 9 | Arcing | 2 | 4.3% | |
| 10 | Hot or smoldering object, other | 1 | 2.2% | |
| 11 | All other sources | 6 | 13.0% |
Largest single-incident property losses reported by Paxton departments in 2025. These 3 fires alone account for 100% of the city's annual total.
| # | Property loss | Type | Severity | Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | $200,000 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
| 2 | $150,000 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
| 3 | $13,000 | Mobile property (vehicle) fire, other | Significant | Investigated |
Per-capita rates let us compare apples to apples. Paxton sits above the national average for incidents per resident.
Top 25 wildfires (1992+) in the FPA-FOD ignitions database, scaled by acres. 4,211 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 | 19.7 mi | |
| 2008 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 700 | 19.7 mi | |
| 2010 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 321 | 46.0 mi | |
| 2003 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 300 | 38.5 mi | |
| 2002 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 300 | 19.7 mi | |
| 2014 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 256 | 19.6 mi | |
| 2001 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 250 | 31.5 mi | |
| 2015 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 250 | 19.6 mi | |
| 2016 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 172 | 19.8 mi | |
| 2004 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 120 | 24.6 mi | |
| 2020 | Recreation and ceremony | 94 | 41.7 mi | |
| 2020 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 79 | 19.6 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 | 01612 | 232 |
Six Massachusetts cities with population within ±25% of Paxton. 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.