In 2025, fire departments serving South Portland responded to 281 fire and hazmat incidents — from cooking fires to gas leaks to a single $700K 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 58% of all calls.
Aug peaks. Dec dips. Watch for the typical fall climb starting in October.
1,067 incidents 2021–2025. Peak year was 2025. $2.4M cumulative property loss.
| Year | Incidents | YoY | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2021 | 158 | — | |
| 2022 | 215 | +36.1% | |
| 2023 | 280 | +30.2% | |
| 2024 | 133 | -52.5% | |
| 2025 | 281 | +111.3% |
For the 9 building fires South Portland departments responded to in 2025, here's how they were classified once investigators were finished.
NFIRS Area of Origin (AREA_ORIG) for the 110 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 | Undetermined | 19 | 17.3% | |
| 2 | Cooking area, kitchen | 14 | 12.7% | |
| 3 | Outside area, other | 13 | 11.8% | |
| 4 | Highway, parking lot, street: on or near | 8 | 7.3% | |
| 5 | Engine area, running gear, wheel area | 7 | 6.4% | |
| 6 | Laundry area, wash house (laundry) | 5 | 4.5% | |
| 7 | Chute/container - trash, rubbish, waste | 5 | 4.5% | |
| 8 | Wall surface: exterior | 4 | 3.6% | |
| 9 | Structural area, other | 3 | 2.7% | |
| 10 | Exterior balcony, unenclosed porch | 3 | 2.7% | |
| 11 | All other areas | 29 | 26.4% |
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 Portland mix.
| # | Heat source | Count | Share | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Undetermined | 39 | 35.5% | |
| 2 | Radiated, conducted heat from operating equipment | 14 | 12.7% | |
| 3 | Arcing | 12 | 10.9% | |
| 4 | Heat from powered equipment, other | 8 | 7.3% | |
| 5 | Hot ember or ash | 5 | 4.5% | |
| 6 | Cigarette | 5 | 4.5% | |
| 7 | Chemical reaction | 5 | 4.5% | |
| 8 | Spark, ember or flame from operating equipment | 3 | 2.7% | |
| 9 | Hot or smoldering object, other | 3 | 2.7% | |
| 10 | Heat from other open flame or smoking materials | 3 | 2.7% | |
| 11 | All other sources | 13 | 11.8% |
Largest single-incident property losses reported by South Portland departments in 2025. These 8 fires alone account for 99% of the city's annual total.
| # | Property loss | Type | Severity | Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | $700,000 | Building fires | Major | Investigated |
| 2 | $180,000 | Passenger vehicle fire | Significant | Investigated |
| 3 | $100,000 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
| 4 | $60,000 | Passenger vehicle fire | Significant | Investigated |
| 5 | $20,000 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
| 6 | $5,000 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
| 7 | $5,000 | Passenger vehicle fire | Significant | Investigated |
| 8 | $5,000 | Passenger vehicle fire | Significant | Investigated |
Per-capita rates let us compare apples to apples. South Portland sits above the national average for incidents per resident.
Top 25 wildfires (1992+) in the FPA-FOD ignitions database, scaled by acres. 1,155 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 | 25.2 mi | |
| 2001 | Misuse of fire by a minor | 236 | 2.8 mi | |
| 1995 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 60 | 49.9 mi | |
| 2016 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 50 | 40.4 mi | |
| 2016 | Arson/incendiarism | 42 | 8.1 mi | |
| 2009 | Debris and open burning | 40 | 24.8 mi | |
| 2006 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 39 | 38.7 mi | |
| 2020 | Arson/incendiarism | 33 | 14.8 mi | |
| 2011 | Arson/incendiarism | 33 | 49.4 mi | |
| 2013 | Arson/incendiarism | 32 | 34.9 mi | |
| 2003 | Railroad operations and maintenance | 31 | 20.5 mi | |
| 2016 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 30 | 45.3 mi |
Top 4 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 Portland. 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.