In 2025, fire departments serving Sunderland responded to 20 fire and hazmat incidents — from cooking fires to gas leaks to a single $500 building blaze. Here's the full picture.
Incomplete 2025 data. Sunderland's departments reported 20 incidents to NFIRS for 2025, against about 35 in a typical year, so 2025 figures on this page undercount. The 2021–2025 totals are the better guide.
Electrical wiring/equipment problem, other lead by count. Building fires lead by dollars. Together the top five categories make up about 55% of all calls.
Nov peaks. Apr dips. Watch for the typical fall climb starting in October.
177 incidents 2021–2025. Peak year was 2022. $196K cumulative property loss.
| Year | Incidents | YoY | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2021 | 36 | — | |
| 2022 | 51 | +41.7% | |
| 2023 | 33 | -35.3% | |
| 2024 | 37 | +12.1% | |
| 2025* | 20 | — |
* Well below Sunderland's usual volume. That almost always means one or more departments didn't submit a full year to NFIRS, not that fires dropped, so no year-over-year change is shown for it.
For the 0 building fires Sunderland departments responded to in 2025, here's how they were classified once investigators were finished.
NFIRS Area of Origin (AREA_ORIG) for the 41 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 | Cooking area, kitchen | 18 | 43.9% | |
| 2 | Outside area, other | 5 | 12.2% | |
| 3 | Open area - outside; included are farmland, field | 4 | 9.8% | |
| 4 | Common room, den, family room, living room, lounge | 2 | 4.9% | |
| 5 | Laundry area, wash house (laundry) | 2 | 4.9% | |
| 6 | Engine area, running gear, wheel area | 2 | 4.9% | |
| 7 | Highway, parking lot, street: on or near | 2 | 4.9% | |
| 8 | Other | 1 | 2.4% | |
| 9 | Egress/exit, other | 1 | 2.4% | |
| 10 | Function area, other | 1 | 2.4% | |
| 11 | All other areas | 3 | 7.3% |
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 Sunderland mix.
| # | Heat source | Count | Share | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Radiated, conducted heat from operating equipment | 16 | 39.0% | |
| 2 | Undetermined | 5 | 12.2% | |
| 3 | Heat source: other | 3 | 7.3% | |
| 4 | Hot or smoldering object, other | 3 | 7.3% | |
| 5 | Cigarette | 2 | 4.9% | |
| 6 | Heat from direct flame, convection currents | 2 | 4.9% | |
| 7 | Heat from powered equipment, other | 1 | 2.4% | |
| 8 | Spark, ember or flame from operating equipment | 1 | 2.4% | |
| 9 | Arcing | 1 | 2.4% | |
| 10 | Hot ember or ash | 1 | 2.4% | |
| 11 | All other sources | 6 | 14.6% |
Largest single-incident property losses reported by Sunderland departments in 2025. These 1 fires alone account for 100% of the city's annual total.
| # | Property loss | Type | Severity | Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | $500 | Fire, other | Significant | Investigated |
Per-capita rates let us compare apples to apples. Sunderland sits below the national average for incidents per resident.
Top 25 wildfires (1992+) in the FPA-FOD ignitions database, scaled by acres. 4,413 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 | 46.7 mi | |
| 2008 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 700 | 46.6 mi | |
| 2010 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 321 | 23.6 mi | |
| 2002 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 300 | 46.6 mi | |
| 2015 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 272 | 35.0 mi | |
| 2014 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 256 | 46.6 mi | |
| 2001 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 250 | 11.4 mi | |
| 2015 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 250 | 46.2 mi | |
| 2016 | Arson/incendiarism | 190 | 47.7 mi | |
| 2016 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 172 | 46.7 mi | |
| 2008 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 130 | 36.4 mi | |
| 2004 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 120 | 19.9 mi |
Top 2 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 Sunderland. 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.