In 2025, fire departments serving Swansea responded to 139 fire and hazmat incidents . Here's the full picture.
Gas leak (natural gas or LPG) lead by count. Building fires lead by dollars. Together the top five categories make up about 58% of all calls.
Jul peaks. Mar dips. Watch for the typical fall climb starting in October.
718 incidents 2021–2025. Peak year was 2023. $22K cumulative property loss.
| Year | Incidents | YoY | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2021 | 134 | — | |
| 2022 | 142 | +6.0% | |
| 2023 | 163 | +14.8% | |
| 2024 | 140 | -14.1% | |
| 2025 | 139 | -0.7% |
For the 9 building fires Swansea departments responded to in 2025, here's how they were classified once investigators were finished.
NFIRS Area of Origin (AREA_ORIG) for the 162 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 | 34 | 21.0% | |
| 2 | Highway, parking lot, street: on or near | 33 | 20.4% | |
| 3 | Open area - outside; included are farmland, field | 19 | 11.7% | |
| 4 | Cooking area, kitchen | 9 | 5.6% | |
| 5 | Courtyard, patio, porch, terrace | 6 | 3.7% | |
| 6 | Vehicle storage area; garage, carport | 5 | 3.1% | |
| 7 | Exterior, exposed surface | 5 | 3.1% | |
| 8 | Outside area, other | 5 | 3.1% | |
| 9 | Bedroom - < 5 persons; included are jail or prison | 4 | 2.5% | |
| 10 | Exterior balcony, unenclosed porch | 4 | 2.5% | |
| 11 | All other areas | 38 | 23.5% |
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 Swansea mix.
| # | Heat source | Count | Share | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Undetermined | 41 | 25.3% | |
| 2 | Arcing | 21 | 13.0% | |
| 3 | Radiated, conducted heat from operating equipment | 20 | 12.3% | |
| 4 | Spark, ember or flame from operating equipment | 10 | 6.2% | |
| 5 | Heat from powered equipment, other | 8 | 4.9% | |
| 6 | Cigarette | 8 | 4.9% | |
| 7 | Heat from direct flame, convection currents | 7 | 4.3% | |
| 8 | Flying brand, ember, spark | 7 | 4.3% | |
| 9 | Heat, spark from friction | 6 | 3.7% | |
| 10 | Hot ember or ash | 6 | 3.7% | |
| 11 | All other sources | 28 | 17.3% |
Per-capita rates let us compare apples to apples. Swansea sits above the national average for incidents per resident.
Top 25 wildfires (1992+) in the FPA-FOD ignitions database, scaled by acres. 1,135 acres burned in this 50-mile radius. Each dot is a fire — bigger dots burned more land.
| Year | Cause | Acres | Distance | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2003 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 300 | 36.3 mi | |
| 2016 | Natural | 120 | 35.5 mi | |
| 2016 | Debris and open burning | 55 | 17.1 mi | |
| 2020 | Debris and open burning | 50 | 42.5 mi | |
| 2005 | Arson/incendiarism | 42 | 43.5 mi | |
| 1997 | Debris and open burning | 40 | 44.1 mi | |
| 2008 | Misuse of fire by a minor | 40 | 36.3 mi | |
| 2001 | Debris and open burning | 35 | 32.0 mi | |
| 2000 | Arson/incendiarism | 30 | 45.0 mi | |
| 2010 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 30 | 33.2 mi | |
| 1999 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 30 | 37.5 mi | |
| 1999 | Arson/incendiarism | 30 | 36.3 mi |
Top 1 ZIP codes by NFIRS incident count across 2021–2025. Each ZIP has its own fire profile — dive in for neighborhood-level context.
| # | ZIP | 5-yr incidents | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 02777 | 718 |
Six Massachusetts cities with population within ±25% of Swansea. 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.