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2025 Annual Fire Report

Fires in Poland, Maine

In 2025, fire departments serving Poland responded to 12 fire and hazmat incidents . Here's the full picture.

Updated Sep 27, 2026 Grade B Peak yr 2024 Androscoggin County 5,883 residents 0 reporting departments 330 5-yr

Incomplete 2025 data. Poland's departments reported 12 incidents to NFIRS for 2025, against about 66 in a typical year, so 2025 figures on this page undercount. The 2021–2025 totals are the better guide.

Total incidents
12
Not comparable with 2024 (incomplete reporting)
Building fires
12
Residential 67% Other 33%
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 100% of all calls.

12
Total Incidents
Building fires 12 100.0%
02 Seasonality

When do fires happen?

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

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

Year over year in Poland

330 incidents 2021–2025. Peak year was 2024. $284K cumulative property loss.

YearIncidentsYoY 
2021 80 —
2022 78 -2.5%
2023 46 -41.0%
2024 114 +147.8%
2025* 12 —

* Well below Poland'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 12 building fires Poland departments responded to in 2025, here's how they were classified once investigators were finished.

Unintentional
0%
0
Cause undetermined
0%
0
Intentional / arson
0%
0
Equipment / heat source failure
0%
0
Under investigation
100%
1
Act of nature (lightning)
0%
0
3b Where fires start

Where do fires start in Poland?

NFIRS Area of Origin (AREA_ORIG) for the 33 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 Wildland, woods 10 30.3%
2 Highway, parking lot, street: on or near 5 15.2%
3 Engine area, running gear, wheel area 4 12.1%
4 Outside area, other 4 12.1%
5 Undetermined 3 9.1%
6 Open area - outside; included are farmland, field 2 6.1%
7 Structural area, other 1 3.0%
8 Vehicle area, other 1 3.0%
9 Operator/passenger area of transportation equip. 1 3.0%
10 Cargo/trunk area - all vehicles 1 3.0%
11 All other areas 1 3.0%
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 Poland mix.

#Heat sourceCountShare 
1 Hot or smoldering object, other 6 18.2%
2 Hot ember or ash 6 18.2%
3 Undetermined 6 18.2%
4 Cigarette lighter 5 15.2%
5 Heat from powered equipment, other 3 9.1%
6 Conducted heat from another fire 3 9.1%
7 Arcing 2 6.1%
8 Spark, ember or flame from operating equipment 1 3.0%
9 Fireworks 1 3.0%
05 How Poland compares

Poland vs Maine vs the nation

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

2.04
Incidents per 1,000 residents
Poland
2.04
ME avg
10.96
US avg
7.48
2.04
Building fires per 1,000 residents
Poland
2.04
ME avg
1.72
US avg
0.85
0
Civilian fire deaths per million
Poland
0
ME avg
3.6
US avg
5.9
5c Wildfires nearby

Wildfires within 50 mi of Poland

Top 25 wildfires (1992+) in the FPA-FOD ignitions database, scaled by acres. 2,060 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 42.3 mi
2018 Debris and open burning 314 47.4 mi
2015 Missing data/not specified/undetermined 275 46.5 mi
2001 Misuse of fire by a minor 236 31.1 mi
2004 Missing data/not specified/undetermined 139 40.1 mi
1992 Arson/incendiarism 64 35.6 mi
1995 Missing data/not specified/undetermined 60 31.3 mi
2002 Recreation and ceremony 57 40.5 mi
2000 Debris and open burning 51 28.2 mi
2016 Missing data/not specified/undetermined 50 48.9 mi
2016 Arson/incendiarism 42 35.8 mi
2009 Debris and open burning 40 47.7 mi
5d Top ZIPs

Where in Poland do fires concentrate?

Top 4 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 04273 288
2 04274 39
3 04230 2
4 04210 1
5e Peer cities

Cities similar to Poland

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

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.