In 2025, fire departments serving West Tisbury responded to 105 fire and hazmat incidents — from cooking fires to gas leaks to a single $250K building blaze. Here's the full picture.
Authorized controlled burning lead by count. Building fires lead by dollars. Together the top five categories make up about 94% of all calls.
Apr peaks. Nov dips. Watch for the typical fall climb starting in October.
700 incidents 2021–2025. Peak year was 2022. $1.3M cumulative property loss.
| Year | Incidents | YoY | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2021 | 163 | — | |
| 2022 | 184 | +12.9% | |
| 2023 | 124 | -32.6% | |
| 2024 | 124 | +0.0% | |
| 2025 | 105 | -15.3% |
For the 1 building fires West Tisbury departments responded to in 2025, here's how they were classified once investigators were finished.
NFIRS Area of Origin (AREA_ORIG) for the 16 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 | Wall surface: exterior | 4 | 25.0% | |
| 2 | Outside area, other | 3 | 18.8% | |
| 3 | Operator/passenger area of transportation equip. | 2 | 12.5% | |
| 4 | Other | 1 | 6.2% | |
| 5 | Common room, den, family room, living room, lounge | 1 | 6.2% | |
| 6 | Equipment or service area, other | 1 | 6.2% | |
| 7 | Vehicle area, other | 1 | 6.2% | |
| 8 | Separate operator/control area of transportation | 1 | 6.2% | |
| 9 | Highway, parking lot, street: on or near | 1 | 6.2% | |
| 10 | Courtyard, patio, porch, terrace | 1 | 6.2% |
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 Tisbury mix.
| # | Heat source | Count | Share | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Arcing | 4 | 25.0% | |
| 2 | Radiated, conducted heat from operating equipment | 2 | 12.5% | |
| 3 | Hot ember or ash | 2 | 12.5% | |
| 4 | Heat source: other | 1 | 6.2% | |
| 5 | Heat from powered equipment, other | 1 | 6.2% | |
| 6 | Spark, ember or flame from operating equipment | 1 | 6.2% | |
| 7 | Hot or smoldering object, other | 1 | 6.2% | |
| 8 | Match | 1 | 6.2% | |
| 9 | Sunlight | 1 | 6.2% | |
| 10 | Chemical reaction | 1 | 6.2% | |
| 11 | All other sources | 1 | 6.2% |
Largest single-incident property losses reported by West Tisbury departments in 2025. These 2 fires alone account for 100% of the city's annual total.
| # | Property loss | Type | Severity | Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | $250,000 | Building fires | Major | Investigated |
| 2 | $5,000 | Chimney or flue fire, confined to chimney or flue | Significant | Investigated |
Per-capita rates let us compare apples to apples. West Tisbury sits above the national average for incidents per resident.
Top 16 wildfires (1992+) in the FPA-FOD ignitions database, scaled by acres. 363 acres burned in this 50-mile radius. Each dot is a fire — bigger dots burned more land.
| Year | Cause | Acres | Distance | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2016 | Natural | 120 | 23.5 mi | |
| 2016 | Debris and open burning | 55 | 36.0 mi | |
| 2017 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 29 | 13.6 mi | |
| 2016 | Equipment and vehicle use | 20 | 31.9 mi | |
| 2015 | Recreation and ceremony | 15 | 23.1 mi | |
| 2017 | Misuse of fire by a minor | 15 | 37.9 mi | |
| 2003 | Arson/incendiarism | 13 | 26.8 mi | |
| 2015 | Recreation and ceremony | 13 | 23.7 mi | |
| 2006 | Arson/incendiarism | 12 | 45.3 mi | |
| 2017 | Arson/incendiarism | 11 | 25.4 mi | |
| 2006 | Arson/incendiarism | 10 | 45.3 mi | |
| 2006 | Arson/incendiarism | 10 | 40.5 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 Tisbury. 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.