In 2025, fire departments serving Topsham responded to 80 fire and hazmat incidents — from cooking fires to gas leaks to a single $12K building blaze. Here's the full picture.
Power line down lead by count. Building fires lead by dollars. Together the top five categories make up about 51% of all calls.
Aug peaks. Mar dips. Watch for the typical fall climb starting in October.
511 incidents 2021–2025. Peak year was 2024. $250K cumulative property loss.
| Year | Incidents | YoY | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2021 | 88 | — | |
| 2022 | 99 | +12.5% | |
| 2023 | 100 | +1.0% | |
| 2024 | 144 | +44.0% | |
| 2025 | 80 | -44.4% |
For the 9 building fires Topsham departments responded to in 2025, here's how they were classified once investigators were finished.
NFIRS Area of Origin (AREA_ORIG) for the 142 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 | 26 | 18.3% | |
| 2 | Engine area, running gear, wheel area | 21 | 14.8% | |
| 3 | Outside area, other | 17 | 12.0% | |
| 4 | Highway, parking lot, street: on or near | 13 | 9.2% | |
| 5 | Other | 10 | 7.0% | |
| 6 | Open area - outside; included are farmland, field | 7 | 4.9% | |
| 7 | Undetermined | 6 | 4.2% | |
| 8 | Duct: hvac, cable, exhaust, heating, or AC | 4 | 2.8% | |
| 9 | Vehicle storage area; garage, carport | 3 | 2.1% | |
| 10 | Equipment or service area, other | 3 | 2.1% | |
| 11 | All other areas | 32 | 22.5% |
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 Topsham mix.
| # | Heat source | Count | Share | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Undetermined | 33 | 23.2% | |
| 2 | Heat from powered equipment, other | 20 | 14.1% | |
| 3 | Radiated, conducted heat from operating equipment | 16 | 11.3% | |
| 4 | Heat source: other | 12 | 8.5% | |
| 5 | Arcing | 10 | 7.0% | |
| 6 | Hot ember or ash | 8 | 5.6% | |
| 7 | Cigarette | 8 | 5.6% | |
| 8 | Spark, ember or flame from operating equipment | 7 | 4.9% | |
| 9 | Hot or smoldering object, other | 5 | 3.5% | |
| 10 | Heat, spark from friction | 4 | 2.8% | |
| 11 | All other sources | 19 | 13.4% |
Largest single-incident property losses reported by Topsham departments in 2025. These 6 fires alone account for 100% of the city's annual total.
| # | Property loss | Type | Severity | Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | $12,000 | Passenger vehicle fire | Significant | Investigated |
| 2 | $5,000 | Passenger vehicle fire | Significant | Investigated |
| 3 | $5,000 | Passenger vehicle fire | Significant | Investigated |
| 4 | $5,000 | Passenger vehicle fire | Significant | Investigated |
| 5 | $1,000 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
| 6 | $1,000 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
Per-capita rates let us compare apples to apples. Topsham sits above the national average for incidents per resident.
Top 25 wildfires (1992+) in the FPA-FOD ignitions database, scaled by acres. 893 acres burned in this 50-mile radius. Each dot is a fire — bigger dots burned more land.
| Year | Cause | Acres | Distance | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2001 | Misuse of fire by a minor | 236 | 28.1 mi | |
| 2002 | Recreation and ceremony | 57 | 27.5 mi | |
| 2000 | Debris and open burning | 51 | 49.1 mi | |
| 2015 | Debris and open burning | 48 | 45.4 mi | |
| 2016 | Arson/incendiarism | 42 | 36.2 mi | |
| 2003 | Debris and open burning | 40 | 33.8 mi | |
| 2006 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 39 | 21.3 mi | |
| 2020 | Arson/incendiarism | 33 | 43.0 mi | |
| 2011 | Arson/incendiarism | 33 | 31.6 mi | |
| 2013 | Arson/incendiarism | 32 | 15.5 mi | |
| 2003 | Railroad operations and maintenance | 31 | 14.8 mi | |
| 1992 | Debris and open burning | 29 | 15.8 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 Topsham. 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.