In 2025, fire departments serving Shirley responded to 69 fire and hazmat incidents — from cooking fires to gas leaks to a single $2.0M 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 77% of all calls.
Dec peaks. Sep dips. Watch for the typical fall climb starting in October.
355 incidents 2021–2025. Peak year was 2023. $4.1M cumulative property loss.
| Year | Incidents | YoY | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2021 | 75 | — | |
| 2022 | 63 | -16.0% | |
| 2023 | 79 | +25.4% | |
| 2024 | 69 | -12.7% | |
| 2025 | 69 | +0.0% |
For the 30 building fires Shirley departments responded to in 2025, here's how they were classified once investigators were finished.
NFIRS Area of Origin (AREA_ORIG) for the 90 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 | 18 | 20.0% | |
| 2 | Other | 11 | 12.2% | |
| 3 | Wildland, woods | 9 | 10.0% | |
| 4 | Cooking area, kitchen | 6 | 6.7% | |
| 5 | Vehicle area, other | 6 | 6.7% | |
| 6 | Undetermined | 6 | 6.7% | |
| 7 | Common room, den, family room, living room, lounge | 3 | 3.3% | |
| 8 | Bedroom - < 5 persons; included are jail or prison | 3 | 3.3% | |
| 9 | Exterior stairway, ramp, or fire escape | 2 | 2.2% | |
| 10 | Vehicle storage area; garage, carport | 2 | 2.2% | |
| 11 | All other areas | 24 | 26.7% |
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 Shirley mix.
| # | Heat source | Count | Share | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Heat source: other | 19 | 21.1% | |
| 2 | Undetermined | 18 | 20.0% | |
| 3 | Arcing | 14 | 15.6% | |
| 4 | Hot ember or ash | 9 | 10.0% | |
| 5 | Heat from powered equipment, other | 5 | 5.6% | |
| 6 | Cigarette | 5 | 5.6% | |
| 7 | Spark, ember or flame from operating equipment | 4 | 4.4% | |
| 8 | Radiated, conducted heat from operating equipment | 3 | 3.3% | |
| 9 | Match | 3 | 3.3% | |
| 10 | Hot or smoldering object, other | 2 | 2.2% | |
| 11 | All other sources | 8 | 8.9% |
Largest single-incident property losses reported by Shirley departments in 2025. These 7 fires alone account for 100% of the city's annual total.
| # | Property loss | Type | Severity | Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | $1,999,999 | Building fires | Major | Investigated |
| 2 | $700,000 | Building fires | Major | Investigated |
| 3 | $300,000 | Building fires | Major | Investigated |
| 4 | $200,000 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
| 5 | $30,000 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
| 6 | $25,000 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
| 7 | $10,000 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
Per-capita rates let us compare apples to apples. Shirley sits above the national average for incidents per resident.
Top 25 wildfires (1992+) in the FPA-FOD ignitions database, scaled by acres. 4,243 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 | 5.2 mi | |
| 2008 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 700 | 5.2 mi | |
| 2003 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 300 | 31.1 mi | |
| 2002 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 300 | 5.2 mi | |
| 2014 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 256 | 5.3 mi | |
| 2001 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 250 | 49.7 mi | |
| 2015 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 250 | 4.8 mi | |
| 2016 | Arson/incendiarism | 190 | 40.0 mi | |
| 2007 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 186 | 32.1 mi | |
| 2016 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 172 | 5.1 mi | |
| 2004 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 120 | 28.8 mi | |
| 2014 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 90 | 36.0 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 | 01464 | 355 |
Six Massachusetts cities with population within ±25% of Shirley. 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.