In 2025, fire departments serving Sutton responded to 80 fire and hazmat incidents — from cooking fires to gas leaks to a single $350K building blaze. Here's the full picture.
Arcing, shorted electrical equipment lead by count. Building fires lead by dollars. Together the top five categories make up about 59% of all calls.
Apr peaks. Oct dips. Watch for the typical fall climb starting in October.
417 incidents 2021–2025. Peak year was 2023. $875K cumulative property loss.
| Year | Incidents | YoY | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2021 | 66 | — | |
| 2022 | 80 | +21.2% | |
| 2023 | 107 | +33.8% | |
| 2024 | 84 | -21.5% | |
| 2025 | 80 | -4.8% |
For the 3 building fires Sutton 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 | 32 | 29.1% | |
| 2 | Outside area, other | 17 | 15.5% | |
| 3 | Open area - outside; included are farmland, field | 16 | 14.5% | |
| 4 | Wildland, woods | 10 | 9.1% | |
| 5 | Highway, parking lot, street: on or near | 9 | 8.2% | |
| 6 | Cooking area, kitchen | 5 | 4.5% | |
| 7 | Vehicle area, other | 5 | 4.5% | |
| 8 | Engine area, running gear, wheel area | 4 | 3.6% | |
| 9 | Common room, den, family room, living room, lounge | 3 | 2.7% | |
| 10 | Bedroom - < 5 persons; included are jail or prison | 1 | 0.9% | |
| 11 | All other areas | 8 | 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 Sutton mix.
| # | Heat source | Count | Share | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Undetermined | 57 | 51.8% | |
| 2 | Hot ember or ash | 20 | 18.2% | |
| 3 | Heat source: other | 6 | 5.5% | |
| 4 | Arcing | 4 | 3.6% | |
| 5 | Radiated, conducted heat from operating equipment | 3 | 2.7% | |
| 6 | Hot or smoldering object, other | 3 | 2.7% | |
| 7 | Flame/torch used for lighting | 3 | 2.7% | |
| 8 | Heat from powered equipment, other | 2 | 1.8% | |
| 9 | Spark, ember or flame from operating equipment | 2 | 1.8% | |
| 10 | Molten, hot material | 2 | 1.8% | |
| 11 | All other sources | 8 | 7.3% |
Largest single-incident property losses reported by Sutton departments in 2025. These 4 fires alone account for 100% of the city's annual total.
| # | Property loss | Type | Severity | Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | $350,000 | Building fires | Major | Investigated |
| 2 | $30,000 | Passenger vehicle fire | Significant | Investigated |
| 3 | $25,000 | Water vehicle fire | Significant | Investigated |
| 4 | $5,000 | Passenger vehicle fire | Significant | Investigated |
Per-capita rates let us compare apples to apples. Sutton sits above the national average for incidents per resident.
Top 25 wildfires (1992+) in the FPA-FOD ignitions database, scaled by acres. 3,994 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 | 25.7 mi | |
| 2008 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 700 | 25.7 mi | |
| 2003 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 300 | 30.9 mi | |
| 2002 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 300 | 25.7 mi | |
| 2014 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 256 | 25.6 mi | |
| 2001 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 250 | 42.5 mi | |
| 2015 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 250 | 26.1 mi | |
| 2016 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 172 | 25.8 mi | |
| 2004 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 120 | 40.0 mi | |
| 2020 | Recreation and ceremony | 94 | 35.1 mi | |
| 2014 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 90 | 48.3 mi | |
| 2020 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 79 | 25.6 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 Sutton. 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.