In 2025, fire departments serving Provincetown responded to 81 fire and hazmat incidents — from cooking fires to gas leaks to a single $30K building blaze. Here's the full picture.
Gas leak (natural gas or LPG) lead by count. Building fires lead by dollars. Together the top five categories make up about 55% of all calls.
Aug peaks. Nov dips. Watch for the typical fall climb starting in October.
404 incidents 2021–2025. Peak year was 2023. $88K cumulative property loss.
| Year | Incidents | YoY | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2021 | 82 | — | |
| 2022 | 85 | +3.7% | |
| 2023 | 107 | +25.9% | |
| 2024 | 49 | -54.2% | |
| 2025 | 81 | +65.3% |
For the 4 building fires Provincetown departments responded to in 2025, here's how they were classified once investigators were finished.
NFIRS Area of Origin (AREA_ORIG) for the 45 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 | Wall surface: exterior | 6 | 13.3% | |
| 2 | Cooking area, kitchen | 4 | 8.9% | |
| 3 | Outside area, other | 4 | 8.9% | |
| 4 | Storage area, other | 3 | 6.7% | |
| 5 | Engine area, running gear, wheel area | 3 | 6.7% | |
| 6 | Courtyard, patio, porch, terrace | 3 | 6.7% | |
| 7 | Other | 2 | 4.4% | |
| 8 | Egress/exit, other | 2 | 4.4% | |
| 9 | Equipment or service area, other | 2 | 4.4% | |
| 10 | Attic: vacant, crawl space above top story, cupola | 2 | 4.4% | |
| 11 | All other areas | 14 | 31.1% |
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 Provincetown mix.
| # | Heat source | Count | Share | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Heat from powered equipment, other | 8 | 17.8% | |
| 2 | Heat source: other | 7 | 15.6% | |
| 3 | Arcing | 7 | 15.6% | |
| 4 | Undetermined | 7 | 15.6% | |
| 5 | Spark, ember or flame from operating equipment | 4 | 8.9% | |
| 6 | Cigarette | 3 | 6.7% | |
| 7 | Hot or smoldering object, other | 2 | 4.4% | |
| 8 | Radiated, conducted heat from operating equipment | 1 | 2.2% | |
| 9 | Hot ember or ash | 1 | 2.2% | |
| 10 | Chemical, natural heat source, other | 1 | 2.2% | |
| 11 | All other sources | 4 | 8.9% |
Largest single-incident property losses reported by Provincetown departments in 2025. These 3 fires alone account for 100% of the city's annual total.
| # | Property loss | Type | Severity | Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | $30,000 | Camper or recreational vehicle (RV) fire | Significant | Investigated |
| 2 | $5,000 | Fires in structures other than in a building | Significant | Investigated |
| 3 | $5,000 | Cooking fire, confined to container | Significant | Investigated |
Per-capita rates let us compare apples to apples. Provincetown sits above the national average for incidents per resident.
Top 21 wildfires (1992+) in the FPA-FOD ignitions database, scaled by acres. 535 acres burned in this 50-mile radius. Each dot is a fire — bigger dots burned more land.
| Year | Cause | Acres | Distance | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2016 | Natural | 120 | 28.7 mi | |
| 2014 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 90 | 48.8 mi | |
| 2016 | Debris and open burning | 55 | 39.3 mi | |
| 2017 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 29 | 38.0 mi | |
| 2016 | Recreation and ceremony | 27 | 47.3 mi | |
| 2015 | Recreation and ceremony | 26 | 46.9 mi | |
| 2015 | Recreation and ceremony | 16 | 44.1 mi | |
| 2018 | Equipment and vehicle use | 16 | 49.2 mi | |
| 2015 | Recreation and ceremony | 15 | 28.3 mi | |
| 2017 | Misuse of fire by a minor | 15 | 40.4 mi | |
| 2005 | Arson/incendiarism | 15 | 42.2 mi | |
| 2015 | Recreation and ceremony | 14 | 39.1 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 Massachusetts cities with population within ±25% of Provincetown. 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.