In 2025, fire departments serving Sherborn responded to 116 fire and hazmat incidents — from cooking fires to gas leaks to a single $50K 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 65% of all calls.
Dec peaks. Jun dips. Watch for the typical fall climb starting in October.
506 incidents 2021–2025. Peak year was 2025. $1.6M cumulative property loss.
| Year | Incidents | YoY | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2021 | 99 | — | |
| 2022 | 85 | -14.1% | |
| 2023 | 99 | +16.5% | |
| 2024 | 107 | +8.1% | |
| 2025 | 116 | +8.4% |
For the 5 building fires Sherborn departments responded to in 2025, here's how they were classified once investigators were finished.
NFIRS Area of Origin (AREA_ORIG) for the 40 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 | 6 | 15.0% | |
| 2 | Outside area, other | 4 | 10.0% | |
| 3 | Wildland, woods | 4 | 10.0% | |
| 4 | Bedroom - < 5 persons; included are jail or prison | 3 | 7.5% | |
| 5 | Exterior, exposed surface | 3 | 7.5% | |
| 6 | Undetermined | 3 | 7.5% | |
| 7 | Common room, den, family room, living room, lounge | 2 | 5.0% | |
| 8 | Storage area, other | 2 | 5.0% | |
| 9 | Attic: vacant, crawl space above top story, cupola | 2 | 5.0% | |
| 10 | Corridor, mall | 1 | 2.5% | |
| 11 | All other areas | 10 | 25.0% |
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 Sherborn mix.
| # | Heat source | Count | Share | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Undetermined | 8 | 20.0% | |
| 2 | Arcing | 7 | 17.5% | |
| 3 | Heat from powered equipment, other | 5 | 12.5% | |
| 4 | Heat source: other | 4 | 10.0% | |
| 5 | Heat from other open flame or smoking materials | 4 | 10.0% | |
| 6 | Heat spread from another fire, other | 3 | 7.5% | |
| 7 | Conducted heat from another fire | 2 | 5.0% | |
| 8 | Spark, ember or flame from operating equipment | 1 | 2.5% | |
| 9 | Radiated, conducted heat from operating equipment | 1 | 2.5% | |
| 10 | Flame/torch used for lighting | 1 | 2.5% | |
| 11 | All other sources | 4 | 10.0% |
Largest single-incident property losses reported by Sherborn departments in 2025. These 3 fires alone account for 100% of the city's annual total.
| # | Property loss | Type | Severity | Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | $50,000 | Road freight or transport vehicle fire | Significant | Investigated |
| 2 | $20,000 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
| 3 | $1,000 | Road freight or transport vehicle fire | Significant | Investigated |
Per-capita rates let us compare apples to apples. Sherborn sits above the national average for incidents per resident.
Top 25 wildfires (1992+) in the FPA-FOD ignitions database, scaled by acres. 3,835 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 | 22.6 mi | |
| 2008 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 700 | 22.6 mi | |
| 2003 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 300 | 10.5 mi | |
| 2002 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 300 | 22.6 mi | |
| 2014 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 256 | 22.6 mi | |
| 2015 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 250 | 23.3 mi | |
| 2007 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 186 | 32.2 mi | |
| 2016 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 172 | 22.7 mi | |
| 2004 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 120 | 49.6 mi | |
| 2014 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 90 | 28.7 mi | |
| 2020 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 79 | 22.7 mi | |
| 2018 | Debris and open burning | 58 | 21.7 mi |
Top 3 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 Sherborn. 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.