In 2025, fire departments serving Rockland responded to 89 fire and hazmat incidents — from cooking fires to gas leaks to a single $1K 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 54% of all calls.
Aug peaks. Dec dips. Watch for the typical fall climb starting in October.
529 incidents 2021–2025. Peak year was 2023. $386K cumulative property loss.
| Year | Incidents | YoY | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2021 | 91 | — | |
| 2022 | 94 | +3.3% | |
| 2023 | 137 | +45.7% | |
| 2024 | 118 | -13.9% | |
| 2025 | 89 | -24.6% |
For the 10 building fires Rockland departments responded to in 2025, here's how they were classified once investigators were finished.
NFIRS Area of Origin (AREA_ORIG) for the 49 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 | Engine area, running gear, wheel area | 5 | 10.2% | |
| 2 | Bedroom - < 5 persons; included are jail or prison | 3 | 6.1% | |
| 3 | Wall surface: exterior | 3 | 6.1% | |
| 4 | Open area - outside; included are farmland, field | 3 | 6.1% | |
| 5 | Undetermined | 3 | 6.1% | |
| 6 | Cooking area, kitchen | 2 | 4.1% | |
| 7 | Storage room, area, tank, or bin | 2 | 4.1% | |
| 8 | Chute/container - trash, rubbish, waste | 2 | 4.1% | |
| 9 | Equipment or service area, other | 2 | 4.1% | |
| 10 | Operator/passenger area of transportation equip. | 2 | 4.1% | |
| 11 | All other areas | 22 | 44.9% |
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 Rockland mix.
| # | Heat source | Count | Share | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Undetermined | 15 | 30.6% | |
| 2 | Arcing | 6 | 12.2% | |
| 3 | Radiated, conducted heat from operating equipment | 5 | 10.2% | |
| 4 | Hot ember or ash | 5 | 10.2% | |
| 5 | Spark, ember or flame from operating equipment | 4 | 8.2% | |
| 6 | Cigarette | 4 | 8.2% | |
| 7 | Heat, spark from friction | 3 | 6.1% | |
| 8 | Sunlight | 2 | 4.1% | |
| 9 | Heat from direct flame, convection currents | 2 | 4.1% | |
| 10 | Molten, hot material | 1 | 2.0% | |
| 11 | All other sources | 2 | 4.1% |
Largest single-incident property losses reported by Rockland departments in 2025. These 4 fires alone account for 100% of the city's annual total.
| # | Property loss | Type | Severity | Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | $1,000 | Heat from short circuit (wiring), defective/worn | Significant | Investigated |
| 2 | $1,000 | Passenger vehicle fire | Significant | Investigated |
| 3 | $500 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
| 4 | $10 | Cooking fire, confined to container | Significant | Investigated |
Per-capita rates let us compare apples to apples. Rockland sits above the national average for incidents per resident.
Top 25 wildfires (1992+) in the FPA-FOD ignitions database, scaled by acres. 647 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 | 17.6 mi | |
| 2002 | Recreation and ceremony | 57 | 27.7 mi | |
| 1992 | Debris and open burning | 50 | 43.9 mi | |
| 2015 | Debris and open burning | 48 | 18.1 mi | |
| 1995 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 40 | 40.7 mi | |
| 2016 | Misuse of fire by a minor | 35 | 24.9 mi | |
| 1999 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 33 | 30.7 mi | |
| 2005 | Debris and open burning | 32 | 49.5 mi | |
| 1999 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 25 | 35.1 mi | |
| 2001 | Debris and open burning | 20 | 35.3 mi | |
| 2005 | Debris and open burning | 17 | 30.7 mi | |
| 2005 | Smoking | 17 | 15.1 mi |
Top 1 ZIP codes by NFIRS incident count across 2021–2025. Each ZIP has its own fire profile — dive in for neighborhood-level context.
| # | ZIP | 5-yr incidents | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 04841 | 529 |
Six Maine cities with population within ±25% of Rockland. 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.