In 2025, fire departments serving Sabattus responded to 31 fire and hazmat incidents — from cooking fires to gas leaks to a single $5K building blaze. Here's the full picture.
Building fires lead by count. Building fires lead by dollars. Together the top five categories make up about 55% of all calls.
Jan peaks. Oct dips. Watch for the typical fall climb starting in October.
255 incidents 2021–2025. Peak year was 2024. $659K cumulative property loss.
| Year | Incidents | YoY | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2021 | 37 | — | |
| 2022 | 51 | +37.8% | |
| 2023 | 60 | +17.6% | |
| 2024 | 76 | +26.7% | |
| 2025 | 31 | -59.2% |
For the 5 building fires Sabattus departments responded to in 2025, here's how they were classified once investigators were finished.
NFIRS Area of Origin (AREA_ORIG) for the 26 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 | Common room, den, family room, living room, lounge | 3 | 11.5% | |
| 2 | Bedroom - < 5 persons; included are jail or prison | 3 | 11.5% | |
| 3 | Engine area, running gear, wheel area | 3 | 11.5% | |
| 4 | Cooking area, kitchen | 2 | 7.7% | |
| 5 | Vehicle storage area; garage, carport | 2 | 7.7% | |
| 6 | Wall assembly | 2 | 7.7% | |
| 7 | Undetermined | 2 | 7.7% | |
| 8 | Interior stairway or ramp | 1 | 3.8% | |
| 9 | Laundry area, wash house (laundry) | 1 | 3.8% | |
| 10 | Equipment or service area, other | 1 | 3.8% | |
| 11 | All other areas | 6 | 23.1% |
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 Sabattus mix.
| # | Heat source | Count | Share | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Radiated, conducted heat from operating equipment | 7 | 26.9% | |
| 2 | Undetermined | 5 | 19.2% | |
| 3 | Arcing | 3 | 11.5% | |
| 4 | Heat from undetermined smoking material | 2 | 7.7% | |
| 5 | Heat source: other | 1 | 3.8% | |
| 6 | Molten, hot material | 1 | 3.8% | |
| 7 | Hot ember or ash | 1 | 3.8% | |
| 8 | Cigarette | 1 | 3.8% | |
| 9 | Flame/torch used for lighting | 1 | 3.8% | |
| 10 | Chemical reaction | 1 | 3.8% | |
| 11 | All other sources | 3 | 11.5% |
Largest single-incident property losses reported by Sabattus departments in 2025. These 1 fires alone account for 100% of the city's annual total.
| # | Property loss | Type | Severity | Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | $5,000 | Passenger vehicle fire | Significant | Investigated |
Per-capita rates let us compare apples to apples. Sabattus sits below the national average for incidents per resident.
Top 25 wildfires (1992+) in the FPA-FOD ignitions database, scaled by acres. 1,023 acres burned in this 50-mile radius. Each dot is a fire — bigger dots burned more land.
| Year | Cause | Acres | Distance | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2001 | Misuse of fire by a minor | 236 | 34.6 mi | |
| 1992 | Arson/incendiarism | 64 | 42.2 mi | |
| 1995 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 60 | 46.8 mi | |
| 2002 | Recreation and ceremony | 57 | 24.8 mi | |
| 2000 | Debris and open burning | 51 | 40.2 mi | |
| 2015 | Debris and open burning | 48 | 44.9 mi | |
| 2016 | Arson/incendiarism | 42 | 41.9 mi | |
| 2006 | Debris and open burning | 40 | 41.5 mi | |
| 2003 | Debris and open burning | 40 | 23.3 mi | |
| 2006 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 39 | 11.1 mi | |
| 2020 | Arson/incendiarism | 33 | 48.3 mi | |
| 2011 | Arson/incendiarism | 33 | 21.0 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 | 04280 | 255 |
Six Maine cities with population within ±25% of Sabattus. Useful comparison targets — same state, similar size, different fire profile.
1 departments report to NFIRS for incidents in Sabattus.
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.