In 2025, fire departments serving Pittsfield responded to 49 fire and hazmat incidents — from cooking fires to gas leaks to a single $7K 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 61% of all calls.
May peaks. Nov dips. Watch for the typical fall climb starting in October.
142 incidents 2021–2025. Peak year was 2025. $318K cumulative property loss.
| Year | Incidents | YoY | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2021 | 42 | — | |
| 2022 | 29 | -31.0% | |
| 2023* | 15 | — | |
| 2024* | 7 | — | |
| 2025 | 49 | — |
* Well below Pittsfield'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 12 building fires Pittsfield departments responded to in 2025, here's how they were classified once investigators were finished.
NFIRS Area of Origin (AREA_ORIG) for the 16 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 | Common room, den, family room, living room, lounge | 2 | 12.5% | |
| 2 | Wall surface: exterior | 2 | 12.5% | |
| 3 | Engine area, running gear, wheel area | 2 | 12.5% | |
| 4 | Exterior stairway, ramp, or fire escape | 1 | 6.2% | |
| 5 | Cooking area, kitchen | 1 | 6.2% | |
| 6 | Laundry area, wash house (laundry) | 1 | 6.2% | |
| 7 | Equipment or service area, other | 1 | 6.2% | |
| 8 | Substructure area or space, crawl space | 1 | 6.2% | |
| 9 | Operator/passenger area of transportation equip. | 1 | 6.2% | |
| 10 | Cargo/trunk area - all vehicles | 1 | 6.2% | |
| 11 | All other areas | 3 | 18.8% |
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 Pittsfield mix.
| # | Heat source | Count | Share | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Undetermined | 4 | 25.0% | |
| 2 | Spark, ember or flame from operating equipment | 2 | 12.5% | |
| 3 | Radiated, conducted heat from operating equipment | 2 | 12.5% | |
| 4 | Heat from undetermined smoking material | 2 | 12.5% | |
| 5 | Arcing | 1 | 6.2% | |
| 6 | Hot ember or ash | 1 | 6.2% | |
| 7 | Cigarette | 1 | 6.2% | |
| 8 | Heat from direct flame, convection currents | 1 | 6.2% | |
| 9 | Radiated heat from another fire | 1 | 6.2% | |
| 10 | Flying brand, ember, spark | 1 | 6.2% |
Largest single-incident property losses reported by Pittsfield departments in 2025. These 3 fires alone account for 100% of the city's annual total.
| # | Property loss | Type | Severity | Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | $7,000 | Mobile property (vehicle) fire, other | Significant | Investigated |
| 2 | $1,000 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
| 3 | $500 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
Per-capita rates let us compare apples to apples. Pittsfield sits above the national average for incidents per resident.
Top 25 wildfires (1992+) in the FPA-FOD ignitions database, scaled by acres. 841 acres burned in this 50-mile radius. Each dot is a fire — bigger dots burned more land.
| Year | Cause | Acres | Distance | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2001 | Debris and open burning | 77 | 35.4 mi | |
| 2016 | Debris and open burning | 61 | 36.0 mi | |
| 2002 | Recreation and ceremony | 57 | 34.8 mi | |
| 1992 | Debris and open burning | 50 | 38.6 mi | |
| 2015 | Debris and open burning | 48 | 28.8 mi | |
| 2016 | Natural | 43 | 44.2 mi | |
| 2003 | Debris and open burning | 40 | 44.4 mi | |
| 1995 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 40 | 7.1 mi | |
| 1997 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 40 | 14.6 mi | |
| 2016 | Misuse of fire by a minor | 35 | 28.3 mi | |
| 2006 | Debris and open burning | 34 | 30.7 mi | |
| 2001 | Equipment and vehicle use | 32 | 34.2 mi |
Top 2 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 Pittsfield. Useful comparison targets — same state, similar size, different fire profile.
1 departments report to NFIRS for incidents in Pittsfield.
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.