In 2025, fire departments serving Salem responded to 431 fire and hazmat incidents — from cooking fires to gas leaks to a single $662K building blaze. Here's the full picture.
Power line down lead by count. Building fires lead by dollars. Together the top five categories make up about 63% of all calls.
Jul peaks. Dec dips. Watch for the typical fall climb starting in October.
2,171 incidents 2021–2025. Peak year was 2024. $4.2M cumulative property loss.
| Year | Incidents | YoY | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2021 | 453 | — | |
| 2022 | 354 | -21.9% | |
| 2023 | 448 | +26.6% | |
| 2024 | 485 | +8.3% | |
| 2025 | 431 | -11.1% |
For the 10 building fires Salem departments responded to in 2025, here's how they were classified once investigators were finished.
NFIRS Area of Origin (AREA_ORIG) for the 435 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 | 130 | 29.9% | |
| 2 | Wildland, woods | 69 | 15.9% | |
| 3 | Highway, parking lot, street: on or near | 45 | 10.3% | |
| 4 | Open area - outside; included are farmland, field | 24 | 5.5% | |
| 5 | Engine area, running gear, wheel area | 21 | 4.8% | |
| 6 | Undetermined | 19 | 4.4% | |
| 7 | Exterior stairway, ramp, or fire escape | 11 | 2.5% | |
| 8 | Cooking area, kitchen | 11 | 2.5% | |
| 9 | Common room, den, family room, living room, lounge | 10 | 2.3% | |
| 10 | Exterior, exposed surface | 10 | 2.3% | |
| 11 | All other areas | 85 | 19.5% |
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 Salem mix.
| # | Heat source | Count | Share | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Undetermined | 125 | 28.7% | |
| 2 | Cigarette | 83 | 19.1% | |
| 3 | Hot ember or ash | 73 | 16.8% | |
| 4 | Hot or smoldering object, other | 32 | 7.4% | |
| 5 | Heat from powered equipment, other | 16 | 3.7% | |
| 6 | Arcing | 16 | 3.7% | |
| 7 | Heat source: other | 12 | 2.8% | |
| 8 | Spark, ember or flame from operating equipment | 9 | 2.1% | |
| 9 | Sunlight | 9 | 2.1% | |
| 10 | Radiated, conducted heat from operating equipment | 7 | 1.6% | |
| 11 | All other sources | 53 | 12.2% |
Largest single-incident property losses reported by Salem departments in 2025. These 8 fires alone account for 99% of the city's annual total.
| # | Property loss | Type | Severity | Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | $661,600 | Building fires | Major | Investigated |
| 2 | $400,000 | Building fires | Major | Investigated |
| 3 | $150,000 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
| 4 | $100,000 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
| 5 | $15,000 | Passenger vehicle fire | Significant | Investigated |
| 6 | $8,000 | Passenger vehicle fire | Significant | Investigated |
| 7 | $6,000 | Road freight or transport vehicle fire | Significant | Investigated |
| 8 | $5,000 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
Per-capita rates let us compare apples to apples. Salem sits above the national average for incidents per resident.
Top 25 wildfires (1992+) in the FPA-FOD ignitions database, scaled by acres. 3,654 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 | 37.6 mi | |
| 2008 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 700 | 37.6 mi | |
| 2003 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 300 | 21.4 mi | |
| 2002 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 300 | 37.6 mi | |
| 2014 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 256 | 37.6 mi | |
| 2015 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 250 | 38.1 mi | |
| 2007 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 186 | 9.5 mi | |
| 2016 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 172 | 37.5 mi | |
| 2014 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 90 | 2.4 mi | |
| 2020 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 79 | 37.8 mi | |
| 2018 | Debris and open burning | 58 | 38.6 mi | |
| 2016 | Debris and open burning | 55 | 43.7 mi |
Top 7 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 Salem. 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.