In 2025, fire departments serving Pepperell responded to 67 fire and hazmat incidents — from cooking fires to gas leaks to a single $36K building blaze. Here's the full picture.
Power line down lead by count. Building fires lead by dollars. Together the top five categories make up about 64% of all calls.
Mar peaks. Jan dips. Watch for the typical fall climb starting in October.
438 incidents 2021–2025. Peak year was 2023. $1.6M cumulative property loss. 1 civilian deaths.
| Year | Incidents | YoY | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2021 | 86 | — | |
| 2022 | 80 | -7.0% | |
| 2023 | 108 | +35.0% | |
| 2024 | 97 | -10.2% | |
| 2025 | 67 | -30.9% |
For the 2 building fires Pepperell departments responded to in 2025, here's how they were classified once investigators were finished.
NFIRS Area of Origin (AREA_ORIG) for the 73 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 | 13 | 17.8% | |
| 2 | Cooking area, kitchen | 9 | 12.3% | |
| 3 | Outside area, other | 8 | 11.0% | |
| 4 | Engine area, running gear, wheel area | 7 | 9.6% | |
| 5 | Wildland, woods | 6 | 8.2% | |
| 6 | Open area - outside; included are farmland, field | 5 | 6.8% | |
| 7 | Operator/passenger area of transportation equip. | 3 | 4.1% | |
| 8 | Other | 2 | 2.7% | |
| 9 | Wall surface: exterior | 2 | 2.7% | |
| 10 | Vehicle area, other | 2 | 2.7% | |
| 11 | All other areas | 16 | 21.9% |
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 Pepperell mix.
| # | Heat source | Count | Share | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Undetermined | 25 | 34.2% | |
| 2 | Hot ember or ash | 10 | 13.7% | |
| 3 | Radiated, conducted heat from operating equipment | 9 | 12.3% | |
| 4 | Heat source: other | 7 | 9.6% | |
| 5 | Hot or smoldering object, other | 6 | 8.2% | |
| 6 | Cigarette | 4 | 5.5% | |
| 7 | Heat from powered equipment, other | 3 | 4.1% | |
| 8 | Arcing | 2 | 2.7% | |
| 9 | Lightning | 2 | 2.7% | |
| 10 | Spark, ember or flame from operating equipment | 1 | 1.4% | |
| 11 | All other sources | 4 | 5.5% |
Largest single-incident property losses reported by Pepperell departments in 2025. These 1 fires alone account for 100% of the city's annual total.
| # | Property loss | Type | Severity | Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | $36,000 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
Per-capita rates let us compare apples to apples. Pepperell sits below the national average for incidents per resident.
Top 25 wildfires (1992+) in the FPA-FOD ignitions database, scaled by acres. 4,021 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 | 12.2 mi | |
| 2008 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 700 | 12.2 mi | |
| 2003 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 300 | 34.5 mi | |
| 2002 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 300 | 12.2 mi | |
| 2014 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 256 | 12.3 mi | |
| 2015 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 250 | 11.8 mi | |
| 2016 | Arson/incendiarism | 190 | 35.9 mi | |
| 2007 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 186 | 29.9 mi | |
| 2016 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 172 | 12.1 mi | |
| 2004 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 120 | 31.2 mi | |
| 2014 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 90 | 35.5 mi | |
| 2020 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 79 | 12.2 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 Massachusetts cities with population within ±25% of Pepperell. 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.