In 2025, fire departments serving West Newbury responded to 37 fire and hazmat incidents — from cooking fires to gas leaks to a single $200K building blaze. Here's the full picture.
Unauthorized burning lead by count. Building fires lead by dollars. Together the top five categories make up about 73% of all calls.
Apr peaks. Sep dips. Watch for the typical fall climb starting in October.
235 incidents 2021–2025. Peak year was 2023. $1.1M cumulative property loss.
| Year | Incidents | YoY | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2021 | 53 | — | |
| 2022 | 44 | -17.0% | |
| 2023 | 54 | +22.7% | |
| 2024 | 47 | -13.0% | |
| 2025 | 37 | -21.3% |
For the 2 building fires West Newbury departments responded to in 2025, here's how they were classified once investigators were finished.
NFIRS Area of Origin (AREA_ORIG) for the 34 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 | 6 | 17.6% | |
| 2 | Common room, den, family room, living room, lounge | 4 | 11.8% | |
| 3 | Substructure area or space, crawl space | 4 | 11.8% | |
| 4 | Outside area, other | 4 | 11.8% | |
| 5 | Undetermined | 3 | 8.8% | |
| 6 | Roof surface: exterior | 2 | 5.9% | |
| 7 | Courtyard, patio, porch, terrace | 2 | 5.9% | |
| 8 | Bedroom - < 5 persons; included are jail or prison | 1 | 2.9% | |
| 9 | Cooking area, kitchen | 1 | 2.9% | |
| 10 | Laundry area, wash house (laundry) | 1 | 2.9% | |
| 11 | All other areas | 6 | 17.6% |
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 West Newbury mix.
| # | Heat source | Count | Share | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Undetermined | 13 | 38.2% | |
| 2 | Hot ember or ash | 11 | 32.4% | |
| 3 | Arcing | 2 | 5.9% | |
| 4 | Heat source: other | 1 | 2.9% | |
| 5 | Heat from powered equipment, other | 1 | 2.9% | |
| 6 | Spark, ember or flame from operating equipment | 1 | 2.9% | |
| 7 | Radiated, conducted heat from operating equipment | 1 | 2.9% | |
| 8 | Heat from other open flame or smoking materials | 1 | 2.9% | |
| 9 | Flame/torch used for lighting | 1 | 2.9% | |
| 10 | Chemical reaction | 1 | 2.9% | |
| 11 | All other sources | 1 | 2.9% |
Largest single-incident property losses reported by West Newbury departments in 2025. These 2 fires alone account for 100% of the city's annual total.
| # | Property loss | Type | Severity | Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | $200,000 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
| 2 | $1,000 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
Per-capita rates let us compare apples to apples. West Newbury sits above the national average for incidents per resident.
Top 25 wildfires (1992+) in the FPA-FOD ignitions database, scaled by acres. 3,989 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 | 39.8 mi | |
| 2008 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 700 | 39.8 mi | |
| 2018 | Debris and open burning | 314 | 43.9 mi | |
| 2003 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 300 | 37.0 mi | |
| 2002 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 300 | 39.8 mi | |
| 2014 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 256 | 39.9 mi | |
| 2015 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 250 | 40.0 mi | |
| 2007 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 186 | 12.3 mi | |
| 2016 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 172 | 39.7 mi | |
| 2014 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 90 | 20.2 mi | |
| 2020 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 79 | 40.0 mi | |
| 2015 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 59 | 43.7 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 Massachusetts cities with population within ±25% of West Newbury. 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.