In 2025, fire departments serving Searsmont responded to 12 fire and hazmat incidents . Here's the full picture.
Incomplete 2025 data. Searsmont's departments reported 12 incidents to NFIRS for 2025, against about 21 in a typical year, so 2025 figures on this page undercount. The 2021–2025 totals are the better guide.
Authorized controlled burning lead by count. Building fires lead by dollars. Together the top five categories make up about 83% of all calls.
Feb peaks. Jan dips. Watch for the typical fall climb starting in October.
106 incidents 2021–2025. Peak year was 2024. $2.4M cumulative property loss.
| Year | Incidents | YoY | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2021* | 8 | — | |
| 2022 | 28 | — | |
| 2023 | 26 | -7.1% | |
| 2024 | 32 | +23.1% | |
| 2025* | 12 | — |
* Well below Searsmont's usual volume. That almost always means one or more departments didn't submit a full year to NFIRS, not that fires dropped, so no year-over-year change is shown for it.
For the 2 building fires Searsmont departments responded to in 2025, here's how they were classified once investigators were finished.
NFIRS Area of Origin (AREA_ORIG) for the 14 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 | 2 | 14.3% | |
| 2 | Bathroom, checkroom, lavatory, locker room | 2 | 14.3% | |
| 3 | Vehicle storage area; garage, carport | 2 | 14.3% | |
| 4 | Exterior stairway, ramp, or fire escape | 1 | 7.1% | |
| 5 | Dining room, cafeteria bar area, beverage service | 1 | 7.1% | |
| 6 | Computer room, control room or center | 1 | 7.1% | |
| 7 | Heating room or area, water heater area | 1 | 7.1% | |
| 8 | Wall assembly | 1 | 7.1% | |
| 9 | Wall surface: exterior | 1 | 7.1% | |
| 10 | Engine area, running gear, wheel area | 1 | 7.1% | |
| 11 | All other areas | 1 | 7.1% |
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 Searsmont mix.
| # | Heat source | Count | Share | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Arcing | 4 | 28.6% | |
| 2 | Radiated, conducted heat from operating equipment | 2 | 14.3% | |
| 3 | Molten, hot material | 2 | 14.3% | |
| 4 | Hot ember or ash | 2 | 14.3% | |
| 5 | Backfire from internal combustion engine | 2 | 14.3% | |
| 6 | Chemical reaction | 1 | 7.1% | |
| 7 | Radiated heat from another fire | 1 | 7.1% |
Per-capita rates let us compare apples to apples. Searsmont sits above the national average for incidents per resident.
Top 25 wildfires (1992+) in the FPA-FOD ignitions database, scaled by acres. 739 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 | 9.4 mi | |
| 2002 | Recreation and ceremony | 57 | 23.0 mi | |
| 1992 | Debris and open burning | 50 | 33.4 mi | |
| 2015 | Debris and open burning | 48 | 2.9 mi | |
| 1995 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 40 | 24.3 mi | |
| 1997 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 40 | 45.3 mi | |
| 2016 | Misuse of fire by a minor | 35 | 11.3 mi | |
| 2006 | Debris and open burning | 34 | 49.0 mi | |
| 1999 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 33 | 29.3 mi | |
| 2005 | Debris and open burning | 32 | 44.7 mi | |
| 1992 | Debris and open burning | 29 | 46.9 mi | |
| 2003 | Misuse of fire by a minor | 28 | 48.4 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 | 04973 | 106 |
Six Maine cities with population within ±25% of Searsmont. 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.