In 2025, fire departments serving Upton responded to 76 fire and hazmat incidents — from cooking fires to gas leaks to a single $50K building blaze. Here's the full picture.
Cooking fire, confined to container lead by count. Building fires lead by dollars. Together the top five categories make up about 51% of all calls.
Mar peaks. Dec dips. Watch for the typical fall climb starting in October.
433 incidents 2021–2025. Peak year was 2022. $910K cumulative property loss.
| Year | Incidents | YoY | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2021 | 87 | — | |
| 2022 | 101 | +16.1% | |
| 2023 | 77 | -23.8% | |
| 2024 | 92 | +19.5% | |
| 2025 | 76 | -17.4% |
For the 6 building fires Upton departments responded to in 2025, here's how they were classified once investigators were finished.
NFIRS Area of Origin (AREA_ORIG) for the 49 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 | 8 | 16.3% | |
| 2 | Wildland, woods | 8 | 16.3% | |
| 3 | Outside area, other | 6 | 12.2% | |
| 4 | Cooking area, kitchen | 3 | 6.1% | |
| 5 | Highway, parking lot, street: on or near | 3 | 6.1% | |
| 6 | Open area - outside; included are farmland, field | 3 | 6.1% | |
| 7 | Vehicle storage area; garage, carport | 2 | 4.1% | |
| 8 | Exterior balcony, unenclosed porch | 2 | 4.1% | |
| 9 | Wall surface: exterior | 2 | 4.1% | |
| 10 | Cargo/trunk area - all vehicles | 2 | 4.1% | |
| 11 | All other areas | 10 | 20.4% |
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 Upton mix.
| # | Heat source | Count | Share | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Undetermined | 19 | 38.8% | |
| 2 | Radiated, conducted heat from operating equipment | 5 | 10.2% | |
| 3 | Hot ember or ash | 5 | 10.2% | |
| 4 | Cigarette | 5 | 10.2% | |
| 5 | Heat source: other | 3 | 6.1% | |
| 6 | Spark, ember or flame from operating equipment | 2 | 4.1% | |
| 7 | Heat from powered equipment, other | 1 | 2.0% | |
| 8 | Hot or smoldering object, other | 1 | 2.0% | |
| 9 | Match | 1 | 2.0% | |
| 10 | Cigarette lighter | 1 | 2.0% | |
| 11 | All other sources | 6 | 12.2% |
Largest single-incident property losses reported by Upton departments in 2025. These 5 fires alone account for 100% of the city's annual total.
| # | Property loss | Type | Severity | Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | $50,000 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
| 2 | $6,000 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
| 3 | $5,000 | Road freight or transport vehicle fire | Significant | Investigated |
| 4 | $3,000 | Outside equipment fire | Significant | Investigated |
| 5 | $100 | Cooking fire, confined to container | Significant | Investigated |
Per-capita rates let us compare apples to apples. Upton sits above the national average for incidents per resident.
Top 25 wildfires (1992+) in the FPA-FOD ignitions database, scaled by acres. 4,134 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 | 22.2 mi | |
| 2008 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 700 | 22.2 mi | |
| 2003 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 300 | 22.9 mi | |
| 2002 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 300 | 22.2 mi | |
| 2014 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 256 | 22.1 mi | |
| 2001 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 250 | 49.1 mi | |
| 2015 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 250 | 22.7 mi | |
| 2007 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 186 | 42.7 mi | |
| 2016 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 172 | 22.3 mi | |
| 2004 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 120 | 42.7 mi | |
| 2020 | Recreation and ceremony | 94 | 42.3 mi | |
| 2014 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 90 | 40.4 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 Upton. 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.