In 2025, fire departments serving West Falmouth responded to 28 fire and hazmat incidents — from cooking fires to gas leaks to a single $15K building blaze. 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 61% of all calls.
May peaks. Jan dips. Watch for the typical fall climb starting in October.
130 incidents 2021–2025. Peak year was 2023. $167K cumulative property loss.
| Year | Incidents | YoY | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2021 | 26 | — | |
| 2022 | 25 | -3.8% | |
| 2023 | 30 | +20.0% | |
| 2024 | 21 | -30.0% | |
| 2025 | 28 | +33.3% |
For the 3 building fires West Falmouth departments responded to in 2025, here's how they were classified once investigators were finished.
NFIRS Area of Origin (AREA_ORIG) for the 25 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 | 6 | 24.0% | |
| 2 | Highway, parking lot, street: on or near | 3 | 12.0% | |
| 3 | Cooking area, kitchen | 2 | 8.0% | |
| 4 | Engine area, running gear, wheel area | 2 | 8.0% | |
| 5 | Wildland, woods | 2 | 8.0% | |
| 6 | Common room, den, family room, living room, lounge | 1 | 4.0% | |
| 7 | Bedroom - < 5 persons; included are jail or prison | 1 | 4.0% | |
| 8 | Laundry area, wash house (laundry) | 1 | 4.0% | |
| 9 | Equipment or service area, other | 1 | 4.0% | |
| 10 | Structural area, other | 1 | 4.0% | |
| 11 | All other areas | 5 | 20.0% |
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 West Falmouth mix.
| # | Heat source | Count | Share | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Undetermined | 8 | 32.0% | |
| 2 | Arcing | 4 | 16.0% | |
| 3 | Hot ember or ash | 3 | 12.0% | |
| 4 | Spark, ember or flame from operating equipment | 2 | 8.0% | |
| 5 | Chemical reaction | 2 | 8.0% | |
| 6 | Heat from powered equipment, other | 1 | 4.0% | |
| 7 | Molten, hot material | 1 | 4.0% | |
| 8 | Fireworks | 1 | 4.0% | |
| 9 | Heat from other open flame or smoking materials | 1 | 4.0% | |
| 10 | Lightning | 1 | 4.0% | |
| 11 | All other sources | 1 | 4.0% |
Largest single-incident property losses reported by West Falmouth departments in 2025. These 2 fires alone account for 100% of the city's annual total.
| # | Property loss | Type | Severity | Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | $15,000 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
| 2 | $8,000 | Passenger vehicle fire | Significant | Investigated |
Per-capita rates let us compare apples to apples. West Falmouth sits above the national average for incidents per resident.
Top 25 wildfires (1992+) in the FPA-FOD ignitions database, scaled by acres. 505 acres burned in this 50-mile radius. Each dot is a fire — bigger dots burned more land.
| Year | Cause | Acres | Distance | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2016 | Natural | 120 | 10.3 mi | |
| 2016 | Debris and open burning | 55 | 24.3 mi | |
| 2017 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 29 | 7.5 mi | |
| 2015 | Recreation and ceremony | 26 | 48.5 mi | |
| 2017 | Arson/incendiarism | 21 | 42.9 mi | |
| 2016 | Equipment and vehicle use | 20 | 24.9 mi | |
| 2015 | Recreation and ceremony | 16 | 49.0 mi | |
| 2015 | Recreation and ceremony | 15 | 11.3 mi | |
| 2017 | Misuse of fire by a minor | 15 | 26.4 mi | |
| 2005 | Arson/incendiarism | 15 | 38.5 mi | |
| 2015 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 14 | 49.1 mi | |
| 2015 | Recreation and ceremony | 14 | 43.3 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 West Falmouth. 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.