In 2025, fire departments serving Rowley responded to 85 fire and hazmat incidents — from cooking fires to gas leaks to a single $31K 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 59% of all calls.
Mar peaks. Dec dips. Watch for the typical fall climb starting in October.
457 incidents 2021–2025. Peak year was 2023. $1.6M cumulative property loss. 2 civilian deaths.
| Year | Incidents | YoY | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2021 | 83 | — | |
| 2022 | 73 | -12.0% | |
| 2023 | 123 | +68.5% | |
| 2024 | 93 | -24.4% | |
| 2025 | 85 | -8.6% |
For the 1 building fires Rowley departments responded to in 2025, here's how they were classified once investigators were finished.
NFIRS Area of Origin (AREA_ORIG) for the 72 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 | 11 | 15.3% | |
| 2 | Engine area, running gear, wheel area | 9 | 12.5% | |
| 3 | Wildland, woods | 9 | 12.5% | |
| 4 | Highway, parking lot, street: on or near | 8 | 11.1% | |
| 5 | Open area - outside; included are farmland, field | 7 | 9.7% | |
| 6 | Undetermined | 6 | 8.3% | |
| 7 | Cooking area, kitchen | 3 | 4.2% | |
| 8 | Vehicle storage area; garage, carport | 3 | 4.2% | |
| 9 | Bedroom - < 5 persons; included are jail or prison | 2 | 2.8% | |
| 10 | Switchgear area, transformer vault | 2 | 2.8% | |
| 11 | All other areas | 12 | 16.7% |
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 Rowley mix.
| # | Heat source | Count | Share | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Undetermined | 33 | 45.8% | |
| 2 | Arcing | 10 | 13.9% | |
| 3 | Hot ember or ash | 5 | 6.9% | |
| 4 | Cigarette | 5 | 6.9% | |
| 5 | Radiated, conducted heat from operating equipment | 4 | 5.6% | |
| 6 | Heat from powered equipment, other | 3 | 4.2% | |
| 7 | Lightning | 2 | 2.8% | |
| 8 | Radiated heat from another fire | 2 | 2.8% | |
| 9 | Conducted heat from another fire | 2 | 2.8% | |
| 10 | Spark, ember or flame from operating equipment | 1 | 1.4% | |
| 11 | All other sources | 5 | 6.9% |
Largest single-incident property losses reported by Rowley departments in 2025. These 5 fires alone account for 100% of the city's annual total.
| # | Property loss | Type | Severity | Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | $31,000 | Passenger vehicle fire | Significant | Investigated |
| 2 | $22,000 | Passenger vehicle fire | Significant | Investigated |
| 3 | $20,000 | Off-road vehicle or heavy equipment fire | Significant | Investigated |
| 4 | $15,000 | Passenger vehicle fire | Significant | Investigated |
| 5 | $10,000 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
Per-capita rates let us compare apples to apples. Rowley sits above the national average for incidents per resident.
Top 25 wildfires (1992+) in the FPA-FOD ignitions database, scaled by acres. 3,953 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 | 41.3 mi | |
| 2008 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 700 | 41.3 mi | |
| 2018 | Debris and open burning | 314 | 47.5 mi | |
| 2003 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 300 | 33.9 mi | |
| 2002 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 300 | 41.3 mi | |
| 2014 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 256 | 41.4 mi | |
| 2015 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 250 | 41.6 mi | |
| 2007 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 186 | 9.7 mi | |
| 2016 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 172 | 41.2 mi | |
| 2014 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 90 | 15.5 mi | |
| 2020 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 79 | 41.5 mi | |
| 2018 | Debris and open burning | 58 | 42.8 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 Massachusetts cities with population within ±25% of Rowley. 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.