In 2025, fire departments serving South Thomaston responded to 26 fire and hazmat incidents . Here's the full picture.
Building fires lead by count. Building fires lead by dollars. Together the top five categories make up about 85% of all calls.
Aug peaks. Jan dips. Watch for the typical fall climb starting in October.
171 incidents 2021–2025. Peak year was 2024. $600 cumulative property loss.
| Year | Incidents | YoY | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2021 | 22 | — | |
| 2022 | 21 | -4.5% | |
| 2023 | 48 | +128.6% | |
| 2024 | 54 | +12.5% | |
| 2025 | 26 | -51.9% |
For the 11 building fires South Thomaston departments responded to in 2025, here's how they were classified once investigators were finished.
NFIRS Area of Origin (AREA_ORIG) for the 22 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 | 6 | 27.3% | |
| 2 | Cooking area, kitchen | 5 | 22.7% | |
| 3 | Bedroom - < 5 persons; included are jail or prison | 2 | 9.1% | |
| 4 | Vehicle storage area; garage, carport | 2 | 9.1% | |
| 5 | Equipment or service area, other | 2 | 9.1% | |
| 6 | Engine area, running gear, wheel area | 2 | 9.1% | |
| 7 | Heating room or area, water heater area | 1 | 4.5% | |
| 8 | Substructure area or space, crawl space | 1 | 4.5% | |
| 9 | Wall surface: exterior | 1 | 4.5% |
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 Thomaston mix.
| # | Heat source | Count | Share | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Arcing | 7 | 31.8% | |
| 2 | Undetermined | 7 | 31.8% | |
| 3 | Hot ember or ash | 2 | 9.1% | |
| 4 | Spark, ember or flame from operating equipment | 1 | 4.5% | |
| 5 | Radiated, conducted heat from operating equipment | 1 | 4.5% | |
| 6 | Candle | 1 | 4.5% | |
| 7 | Chemical reaction | 1 | 4.5% | |
| 8 | Other static discharge | 1 | 4.5% | |
| 9 | Heat from direct flame, convection currents | 1 | 4.5% |
Per-capita rates let us compare apples to apples. South Thomaston sits above the national average for incidents per resident.
Top 25 wildfires (1992+) in the FPA-FOD ignitions database, scaled by acres. 623 acres burned in this 50-mile radius. Each dot is a fire — bigger dots burned more land.
| Year | Cause | Acres | Distance | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2001 | Debris and open burning | 77 | 23.0 mi | |
| 2002 | Recreation and ceremony | 57 | 30.0 mi | |
| 1992 | Debris and open burning | 50 | 48.9 mi | |
| 2015 | Debris and open burning | 48 | 23.4 mi | |
| 1995 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 40 | 46.1 mi | |
| 2016 | Misuse of fire by a minor | 35 | 30.4 mi | |
| 1999 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 33 | 34.2 mi | |
| 1999 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 25 | 40.3 mi | |
| 2001 | Debris and open burning | 20 | 40.5 mi | |
| 2005 | Debris and open burning | 17 | 36.3 mi | |
| 2005 | Smoking | 17 | 18.1 mi | |
| 2017 | Recreation and ceremony | 17 | 36.8 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 Thomaston. Useful comparison targets — same state, similar size, different fire profile.
1 departments report to NFIRS for incidents in South Thomaston.
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.