In 2025, fire departments serving Presque Isle responded to 67 fire and hazmat incidents — from cooking fires to gas leaks to a single $20K building blaze. Here's the full picture.
Unauthorized burning lead by count. Building fires lead by dollars. Together the top five categories make up about 49% of all calls.
May peaks. Oct dips. Watch for the typical fall climb starting in October.
338 incidents 2021–2025. Peak year was 2024. $2.6M cumulative property loss.
| Year | Incidents | YoY | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2021 | 62 | — | |
| 2022 | 66 | +6.5% | |
| 2023 | 66 | +0.0% | |
| 2024 | 77 | +16.7% | |
| 2025 | 67 | -13.0% |
For the 7 building fires Presque Isle departments responded to in 2025, here's how they were classified once investigators were finished.
NFIRS Area of Origin (AREA_ORIG) for the 155 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 | 35 | 22.6% | |
| 2 | Cooking area, kitchen | 23 | 14.8% | |
| 3 | Engine area, running gear, wheel area | 12 | 7.7% | |
| 4 | Undetermined | 10 | 6.5% | |
| 5 | Other | 8 | 5.2% | |
| 6 | Open area - outside; included are farmland, field | 7 | 4.5% | |
| 7 | Duct: hvac, cable, exhaust, heating, or AC | 6 | 3.9% | |
| 8 | Vehicle area, other | 5 | 3.2% | |
| 9 | Attic: vacant, crawl space above top story, cupola | 4 | 2.6% | |
| 10 | Exterior stairway, ramp, or fire escape | 3 | 1.9% | |
| 11 | All other areas | 42 | 27.1% |
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 Presque Isle mix.
| # | Heat source | Count | Share | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Undetermined | 44 | 28.4% | |
| 2 | Hot ember or ash | 20 | 12.9% | |
| 3 | Heat source: other | 17 | 11.0% | |
| 4 | Hot or smoldering object, other | 12 | 7.7% | |
| 5 | Heat from powered equipment, other | 11 | 7.1% | |
| 6 | Radiated, conducted heat from operating equipment | 9 | 5.8% | |
| 7 | Spark, ember or flame from operating equipment | 8 | 5.2% | |
| 8 | Match | 8 | 5.2% | |
| 9 | Flame/torch used for lighting | 5 | 3.2% | |
| 10 | Cigarette | 4 | 2.6% | |
| 11 | All other sources | 17 | 11.0% |
Largest single-incident property losses reported by Presque Isle departments in 2025. These 8 fires alone account for 100% of the city's annual total.
| # | Property loss | Type | Severity | Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | $20,000 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
| 2 | $13,000 | Mobile property (vehicle) fire, other | Significant | Investigated |
| 3 | $13,000 | Passenger vehicle fire | Significant | Investigated |
| 4 | $2,000 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
| 5 | $1,000 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
| 6 | $1,000 | Fuel burner/boiler malfunction, fire confined | Significant | Investigated |
| 7 | $500 | Mobile property (vehicle) fire, other | Significant | Investigated |
| 8 | $100 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
Per-capita rates let us compare apples to apples. Presque Isle sits above the national average for incidents per resident.
Top 25 wildfires (1992+) in the FPA-FOD ignitions database, scaled by acres. 1,707 acres burned in this 50-mile radius. Each dot is a fire — bigger dots burned more land.
| Year | Cause | Acres | Distance | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2020 | Smoking | 236 | 47.1 mi | |
| 1992 | Arson/incendiarism | 145 | 28.2 mi | |
| 2002 | Debris and open burning | 129 | 14.8 mi | |
| 2020 | Equipment and vehicle use | 110 | 42.3 mi | |
| 2004 | Debris and open burning | 92 | 8.8 mi | |
| 2007 | Debris and open burning | 75 | 12.4 mi | |
| 1992 | Arson/incendiarism | 75 | 27.0 mi | |
| 2000 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 65 | 23.8 mi | |
| 1997 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 65 | 33.4 mi | |
| 1992 | Arson/incendiarism | 59 | 8.5 mi | |
| 1996 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 56 | 43.4 mi | |
| 2002 | Equipment and vehicle use | 52 | 31.1 mi |
Top 5 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 Presque Isle. Useful comparison targets — same state, similar size, different fire profile.
1 departments report to NFIRS for incidents in Presque Isle.
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.