In 2025, fire departments serving Plainville responded to 101 fire and hazmat incidents — from cooking fires to gas leaks to a single $200K building blaze. Here's the full picture.
Electrical wiring/equipment problem, other lead by count. Building fires lead by dollars. Together the top five categories make up about 52% of all calls.
Jul peaks. Dec dips. Watch for the typical fall climb starting in October.
591 incidents 2021–2025. Peak year was 2021. $778K cumulative property loss. 1 civilian deaths.
| Year | Incidents | YoY | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2021 | 131 | — | |
| 2022 | 125 | -4.6% | |
| 2023 | 125 | +0.0% | |
| 2024 | 109 | -12.8% | |
| 2025 | 101 | -7.3% |
For the 12 building fires Plainville departments responded to in 2025, here's how they were classified once investigators were finished.
NFIRS Area of Origin (AREA_ORIG) for the 104 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 | Outside area, other | 17 | 16.3% | |
| 2 | Engine area, running gear, wheel area | 11 | 10.6% | |
| 3 | Open area - outside; included are farmland, field | 9 | 8.7% | |
| 4 | Highway, parking lot, street: on or near | 8 | 7.7% | |
| 5 | Wildland, woods | 8 | 7.7% | |
| 6 | Undetermined | 8 | 7.7% | |
| 7 | Cooking area, kitchen | 5 | 4.8% | |
| 8 | Other | 4 | 3.8% | |
| 9 | Vehicle area, other | 3 | 2.9% | |
| 10 | Laundry area, wash house (laundry) | 2 | 1.9% | |
| 11 | All other areas | 29 | 27.9% |
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 Plainville mix.
| # | Heat source | Count | Share | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Undetermined | 38 | 36.5% | |
| 2 | Hot or smoldering object, other | 18 | 17.3% | |
| 3 | Heat from powered equipment, other | 11 | 10.6% | |
| 4 | Arcing | 9 | 8.7% | |
| 5 | Hot ember or ash | 7 | 6.7% | |
| 6 | Radiated, conducted heat from operating equipment | 4 | 3.8% | |
| 7 | Heat spread from another fire, other | 3 | 2.9% | |
| 8 | Heat, spark from friction | 2 | 1.9% | |
| 9 | Cigarette | 2 | 1.9% | |
| 10 | Heat from undetermined smoking material | 2 | 1.9% | |
| 11 | All other sources | 8 | 7.7% |
Largest single-incident property losses reported by Plainville departments in 2025. These 5 fires alone account for 100% of the city's annual total.
| # | Property loss | Type | Severity | Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | $200,000 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
| 2 | $40,000 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
| 3 | $20,000 | Mobile property (vehicle) fire, other | Significant | Investigated |
| 4 | $1,000 | Brush, or brush and grass mixture fire | Significant | Investigated |
| 5 | $1 | Outside rubbish, trash or waste fire | Significant | Investigated |
Per-capita rates let us compare apples to apples. Plainville sits above the national average for incidents per resident.
Top 25 wildfires (1992+) in the FPA-FOD ignitions database, scaled by acres. 3,893 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 | 36.8 mi | |
| 2008 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 700 | 36.8 mi | |
| 2003 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 300 | 20.2 mi | |
| 2002 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 300 | 36.8 mi | |
| 2014 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 256 | 36.7 mi | |
| 2015 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 250 | 37.4 mi | |
| 2007 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 186 | 44.9 mi | |
| 2016 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 172 | 36.9 mi | |
| 2016 | Natural | 120 | 46.3 mi | |
| 2020 | Recreation and ceremony | 94 | 47.1 mi | |
| 2014 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 90 | 39.1 mi | |
| 2020 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 79 | 36.8 mi |
Top 9 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 Plainville. 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.