In 2025, fire departments serving Wells responded to 185 fire and hazmat incidents — from cooking fires to gas leaks to a single $4.9M building blaze. Here's the full picture.
Hazardous condition, other lead by count. Building fires lead by dollars. Together the top five categories make up about 54% of all calls.
Aug peaks. Dec dips. Watch for the typical fall climb starting in October.
1,161 incidents 2021–2025. Peak year was 2024. $7.3M cumulative property loss.
| Year | Incidents | YoY | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2021 | 144 | — | |
| 2022 | 179 | +24.3% | |
| 2023 | 309 | +72.6% | |
| 2024 | 344 | +11.3% | |
| 2025 | 185 | -46.2% |
For the 16 building fires Wells departments responded to in 2025, here's how they were classified once investigators were finished.
NFIRS Area of Origin (AREA_ORIG) for the 156 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 | Outside area, other | 31 | 19.9% | |
| 2 | Engine area, running gear, wheel area | 14 | 9.0% | |
| 3 | Highway, parking lot, street: on or near | 14 | 9.0% | |
| 4 | Open area - outside; included are farmland, field | 14 | 9.0% | |
| 5 | Wildland, woods | 12 | 7.7% | |
| 6 | Cooking area, kitchen | 10 | 6.4% | |
| 7 | Vehicle area, other | 7 | 4.5% | |
| 8 | Undetermined | 6 | 3.8% | |
| 9 | Bedroom - < 5 persons; included are jail or prison | 4 | 2.6% | |
| 10 | Cargo/trunk area - all vehicles | 4 | 2.6% | |
| 11 | All other areas | 40 | 25.6% |
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 Wells mix.
| # | Heat source | Count | Share | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Undetermined | 64 | 41.0% | |
| 2 | Hot ember or ash | 16 | 10.3% | |
| 3 | Arcing | 13 | 8.3% | |
| 4 | Heat from powered equipment, other | 8 | 5.1% | |
| 5 | Cigarette | 8 | 5.1% | |
| 6 | Radiated, conducted heat from operating equipment | 7 | 4.5% | |
| 7 | Spark, ember or flame from operating equipment | 6 | 3.8% | |
| 8 | Heat source: other | 5 | 3.2% | |
| 9 | Hot or smoldering object, other | 5 | 3.2% | |
| 10 | Heat from direct flame, convection currents | 4 | 2.6% | |
| 11 | All other sources | 20 | 12.8% |
Largest single-incident property losses reported by Wells departments in 2025. These 8 fires alone account for 100% of the city's annual total.
| # | Property loss | Type | Severity | Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | $4,900,000 | Road freight or transport vehicle fire | Major | Investigated |
| 2 | $42,000 | Passenger vehicle fire | Significant | Investigated |
| 3 | $30,000 | Passenger vehicle fire | Significant | Investigated |
| 4 | $20,000 | Passenger vehicle fire | Significant | Investigated |
| 5 | $18,499 | Fire in motor home, camper, recreational vehicle | Significant | Investigated |
| 6 | $5,000 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
| 7 | $2,500 | Fire in portable building, fixed location | Significant | Investigated |
| 8 | $2,000 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
Per-capita rates let us compare apples to apples. Wells sits above the national average for incidents per resident.
Top 25 wildfires (1992+) in the FPA-FOD ignitions database, scaled by acres. 1,426 acres burned in this 50-mile radius. Each dot is a fire — bigger dots burned more land.
| Year | Cause | Acres | Distance | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2018 | Debris and open burning | 314 | 4.7 mi | |
| 2015 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 275 | 44.2 mi | |
| 2001 | Misuse of fire by a minor | 236 | 27.7 mi | |
| 2015 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 92 | 46.7 mi | |
| 2016 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 50 | 27.6 mi | |
| 2016 | Arson/incendiarism | 42 | 19.3 mi | |
| 2016 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 41 | 39.6 mi | |
| 2009 | Debris and open burning | 40 | 3.8 mi | |
| 2020 | Arson/incendiarism | 33 | 12.4 mi | |
| 2003 | Railroad operations and maintenance | 31 | 45.7 mi | |
| 2016 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 30 | 42.8 mi | |
| 2014 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 24 | 48.8 mi |
Top 4 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 Wells. 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.