In 2025, fire departments serving South Berwick responded to 92 fire and hazmat incidents — from cooking fires to gas leaks to a single $10K 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 53% of all calls.
Mar peaks. Sep dips. Watch for the typical fall climb starting in October.
598 incidents 2021–2025. Peak year was 2023. $916K cumulative property loss.
| Year | Incidents | YoY | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2021 | 78 | — | |
| 2022 | 116 | +48.7% | |
| 2023 | 169 | +45.7% | |
| 2024 | 143 | -15.4% | |
| 2025 | 92 | -35.7% |
For the 4 building fires South Berwick departments responded to in 2025, here's how they were classified once investigators were finished.
NFIRS Area of Origin (AREA_ORIG) for the 59 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 | Open area - outside; included are farmland, field | 16 | 27.1% | |
| 2 | Wildland, woods | 6 | 10.2% | |
| 3 | Engine area, running gear, wheel area | 5 | 8.5% | |
| 4 | Cooking area, kitchen | 4 | 6.8% | |
| 5 | Outside area, other | 4 | 6.8% | |
| 6 | Common room, den, family room, living room, lounge | 3 | 5.1% | |
| 7 | Conduit, pipe, utility, or ventilation shaft | 2 | 3.4% | |
| 8 | Heating room or area, water heater area | 2 | 3.4% | |
| 9 | Substructure area or space, crawl space | 2 | 3.4% | |
| 10 | Highway, parking lot, street: on or near | 2 | 3.4% | |
| 11 | All other areas | 13 | 22.0% |
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 South Berwick mix.
| # | Heat source | Count | Share | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Undetermined | 13 | 22.0% | |
| 2 | Hot ember or ash | 8 | 13.6% | |
| 3 | Heat from powered equipment, other | 6 | 10.2% | |
| 4 | Arcing | 6 | 10.2% | |
| 5 | Hot or smoldering object, other | 6 | 10.2% | |
| 6 | Cigarette | 6 | 10.2% | |
| 7 | Spark, ember or flame from operating equipment | 3 | 5.1% | |
| 8 | Radiated, conducted heat from operating equipment | 3 | 5.1% | |
| 9 | Heat from other open flame or smoking materials | 3 | 5.1% | |
| 10 | Flying brand, ember, spark | 2 | 3.4% | |
| 11 | All other sources | 3 | 5.1% |
Largest single-incident property losses reported by South Berwick departments in 2025. These 6 fires alone account for 100% of the city's annual total.
| # | Property loss | Type | Severity | Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | $10,000 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
| 2 | $5,000 | Cooking fire, confined to container | Significant | Investigated |
| 3 | $2,500 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
| 4 | $2,500 | Off-road vehicle or heavy equipment fire | Significant | Investigated |
| 5 | $500 | Brush, or brush and grass mixture fire | Significant | Investigated |
| 6 | $250 | Fires in structures other than in a building | Significant | Investigated |
Per-capita rates let us compare apples to apples. South Berwick sits above the national average for incidents per resident.
Top 25 wildfires (1992+) in the FPA-FOD ignitions database, scaled by acres. 1,657 acres burned in this 50-mile radius. Each dot is a fire — bigger dots burned more land.
| Year | Cause | Acres | Distance | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2018 | Debris and open burning | 314 | 11.2 mi | |
| 2015 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 275 | 45.3 mi | |
| 2001 | Misuse of fire by a minor | 236 | 36.1 mi | |
| 2007 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 186 | 44.9 mi | |
| 2015 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 92 | 42.8 mi | |
| 2015 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 59 | 43.4 mi | |
| 2019 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 54 | 44.9 mi | |
| 2016 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 50 | 27.5 mi | |
| 2016 | Arson/incendiarism | 42 | 27.6 mi | |
| 2016 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 41 | 33.9 mi | |
| 2009 | Debris and open burning | 40 | 11.1 mi | |
| 2020 | Arson/incendiarism | 33 | 20.8 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 Maine cities with population within ±25% of South Berwick. 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.