In 2025, fire departments serving South Hadley responded to 135 fire and hazmat incidents — from cooking fires to gas leaks to a single $50K building blaze. Here's the full picture.
Gas leak (natural gas or LPG) lead by count. Building fires lead by dollars. Together the top five categories make up about 60% of all calls.
Sep peaks. Nov dips. Watch for the typical fall climb starting in October.
754 incidents 2021–2025. Peak year was 2023. $631K cumulative property loss.
| Year | Incidents | YoY | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2021 | 165 | — | |
| 2022 | 120 | -27.3% | |
| 2023 | 172 | +43.3% | |
| 2024 | 162 | -5.8% | |
| 2025 | 135 | -16.7% |
For the 8 building fires South Hadley departments responded to in 2025, here's how they were classified once investigators were finished.
NFIRS Area of Origin (AREA_ORIG) for the 144 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 | 31 | 21.5% | |
| 2 | Cooking area, kitchen | 24 | 16.7% | |
| 3 | Bedroom - < 5 persons; included are jail or prison | 7 | 4.9% | |
| 4 | Common room, den, family room, living room, lounge | 6 | 4.2% | |
| 5 | Engine area, running gear, wheel area | 6 | 4.2% | |
| 6 | Other | 5 | 3.5% | |
| 7 | Vehicle storage area; garage, carport | 5 | 3.5% | |
| 8 | Vehicle area, other | 5 | 3.5% | |
| 9 | Wildland, woods | 5 | 3.5% | |
| 10 | Open area - outside; included are farmland, field | 4 | 2.8% | |
| 11 | All other areas | 46 | 31.9% |
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 Hadley mix.
| # | Heat source | Count | Share | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Undetermined | 23 | 16.0% | |
| 2 | Radiated, conducted heat from operating equipment | 22 | 15.3% | |
| 3 | Arcing | 13 | 9.0% | |
| 4 | Heat from powered equipment, other | 12 | 8.3% | |
| 5 | Heat source: other | 9 | 6.2% | |
| 6 | Hot or smoldering object, other | 9 | 6.2% | |
| 7 | Hot ember or ash | 9 | 6.2% | |
| 8 | Cigarette | 7 | 4.9% | |
| 9 | Spark, ember or flame from operating equipment | 6 | 4.2% | |
| 10 | Match | 5 | 3.5% | |
| 11 | All other sources | 29 | 20.1% |
Largest single-incident property losses reported by South Hadley departments in 2025. These 5 fires alone account for 100% of the city's annual total.
| # | Property loss | Type | Severity | Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | $50,000 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
| 2 | $50,000 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
| 3 | $1,500 | Electrical wiring/equipment problem, other | Significant | Investigated |
| 4 | $500 | Passenger vehicle fire | Significant | Investigated |
| 5 | $500 | Cooking fire, confined to container | Significant | Investigated |
Per-capita rates let us compare apples to apples. South Hadley sits above the national average for incidents per resident.
Top 25 wildfires (1992+) in the FPA-FOD ignitions database, scaled by acres. 4,363 acres burned in this 50-mile radius. Each dot is a fire — bigger dots burned more land.
| Year | Cause | Acres | Distance | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2008 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 1,300 | 42.2 mi | |
| 1997 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 361 | 47.2 mi | |
| 2010 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 321 | 13.1 mi | |
| 2015 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 272 | 43.2 mi | |
| 2001 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 250 | 3.3 mi | |
| 1994 | Misuse of fire by a minor | 180 | 47.6 mi | |
| 1994 | Misuse of fire by a minor | 180 | 47.6 mi | |
| 2008 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 175 | 39.1 mi | |
| 2010 | Recreation and ceremony | 137 | 46.8 mi | |
| 2008 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 130 | 39.8 mi | |
| 2004 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 120 | 30.4 mi | |
| 1999 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 110 | 39.1 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 | 01075 | 754 |
Six Massachusetts cities with population within ±25% of South Hadley. 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.