In 2025, fire departments serving Sturbridge responded to 90 fire and hazmat incidents — from cooking fires to gas leaks to a single $100K 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 43% of all calls.
May peaks. Dec dips. Watch for the typical fall climb starting in October.
573 incidents 2021–2025. Peak year was 2021. $1.3M cumulative property loss. 2 civilian deaths.
| Year | Incidents | YoY | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2021 | 149 | — | |
| 2022 | 119 | -20.1% | |
| 2023 | 103 | -13.4% | |
| 2024 | 112 | +8.7% | |
| 2025 | 90 | -19.6% |
For the 10 building fires Sturbridge departments responded to in 2025, here's how they were classified once investigators were finished.
NFIRS Area of Origin (AREA_ORIG) for the 148 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 | Engine area, running gear, wheel area | 38 | 25.7% | |
| 2 | Highway, parking lot, street: on or near | 21 | 14.2% | |
| 3 | Cooking area, kitchen | 14 | 9.5% | |
| 4 | Outside area, other | 13 | 8.8% | |
| 5 | Wildland, woods | 9 | 6.1% | |
| 6 | Open area - outside; included are farmland, field | 8 | 5.4% | |
| 7 | Undetermined | 8 | 5.4% | |
| 8 | Vehicle area, other | 6 | 4.1% | |
| 9 | Operator/passenger area of transportation equip. | 3 | 2.0% | |
| 10 | Common room, den, family room, living room, lounge | 2 | 1.4% | |
| 11 | All other areas | 26 | 17.6% |
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 Sturbridge mix.
| # | Heat source | Count | Share | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Undetermined | 38 | 25.7% | |
| 2 | Heat from powered equipment, other | 20 | 13.5% | |
| 3 | Radiated, conducted heat from operating equipment | 13 | 8.8% | |
| 4 | Arcing | 13 | 8.8% | |
| 5 | Hot ember or ash | 9 | 6.1% | |
| 6 | Cigarette | 9 | 6.1% | |
| 7 | Heat source: other | 7 | 4.7% | |
| 8 | Spark, ember or flame from operating equipment | 7 | 4.7% | |
| 9 | Heat, spark from friction | 6 | 4.1% | |
| 10 | Hot or smoldering object, other | 5 | 3.4% | |
| 11 | All other sources | 21 | 14.2% |
Largest single-incident property losses reported by Sturbridge departments in 2025. These 8 fires alone account for 96% of the city's annual total.
| # | Property loss | Type | Severity | Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | $100,000 | Road freight or transport vehicle fire | Significant | Investigated |
| 2 | $25,000 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
| 3 | $19,471 | Passenger vehicle fire | Significant | Investigated |
| 4 | $9,000 | Dumpster or other outside trash receptacle fire | Significant | Investigated |
| 5 | $5,000 | Passenger vehicle fire | Significant | Investigated |
| 6 | $5,000 | Mobile property (vehicle) fire, other | Significant | Investigated |
| 7 | $5,000 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
| 8 | $5,000 | Passenger vehicle fire | Significant | Investigated |
Per-capita rates let us compare apples to apples. Sturbridge sits above the national average for incidents per resident.
Top 25 wildfires (1992+) in the FPA-FOD ignitions database, scaled by acres. 4,695 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 | 35.4 mi | |
| 2008 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 700 | 35.4 mi | |
| 1997 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 361 | 42.4 mi | |
| 2010 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 321 | 37.5 mi | |
| 2003 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 300 | 48.1 mi | |
| 2002 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 300 | 35.4 mi | |
| 2014 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 256 | 35.3 mi | |
| 2001 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 250 | 27.0 mi | |
| 2015 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 250 | 35.4 mi | |
| 2016 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 172 | 35.5 mi | |
| 2012 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 150 | 46.2 mi | |
| 2004 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 120 | 34.7 mi |
Top 6 ZIP codes by NFIRS incident count across 2021–2025. Each ZIP has its own fire profile — dive in for neighborhood-level context.
Six Massachusetts cities with population within ±25% of Sturbridge. 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.