In 2025, fire departments serving Westport responded to 16 fire and hazmat incidents — from cooking fires to gas leaks to a single $2K building blaze. Here's the full picture.
Building fires lead by count. Building fires lead by dollars. Together the top five categories make up about 62% of all calls.
Jul peaks. Feb dips. Watch for the typical fall climb starting in October.
41 incidents 2021–2025. Peak year was 2025. $2K cumulative property loss.
| Year | Incidents | YoY | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2021 | 9 | — | |
| 2022 | 5 | -44.4% | |
| 2023 | 5 | +0.0% | |
| 2024 | 6 | +20.0% | |
| 2025 | 16 | +166.7% |
For the 4 building fires Westport departments responded to in 2025, here's how they were classified once investigators were finished.
NFIRS Area of Origin (AREA_ORIG) for the 1 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 | 1 | 100.0% |
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 Westport mix.
| # | Heat source | Count | Share | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Undetermined | 1 | 100.0% |
Largest single-incident property losses reported by Westport departments in 2025. These 2 fires alone account for 100% of the city's annual total.
| # | Property loss | Type | Severity | Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | $2,000 | Structure fire, other (conversion only) | Significant | Investigated |
| 2 | $1 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
Per-capita rates let us compare apples to apples. Westport sits below the national average for incidents per resident.
Top 25 wildfires (1992+) in the FPA-FOD ignitions database, scaled by acres. 1,034 acres burned in this 50-mile radius. Each dot is a fire — bigger dots burned more land.
| Year | Cause | Acres | Distance | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2003 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 300 | 48.2 mi | |
| 2016 | Natural | 120 | 30.4 mi | |
| 2016 | Debris and open burning | 55 | 21.8 mi | |
| 1997 | Debris and open burning | 40 | 47.9 mi | |
| 2008 | Misuse of fire by a minor | 40 | 47.6 mi | |
| 2001 | Debris and open burning | 35 | 39.3 mi | |
| 2010 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 30 | 42.9 mi | |
| 1999 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 30 | 48.1 mi | |
| 1999 | Arson/incendiarism | 30 | 47.6 mi | |
| 1992 | Recreation and ceremony | 30 | 46.3 mi | |
| 2019 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 30 | 48.0 mi | |
| 2017 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 29 | 30.1 mi |
Top 1 ZIP codes by NFIRS incident count across 2021–2025. Each ZIP has its own fire profile — dive in for neighborhood-level context.
| # | ZIP | 5-yr incidents | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 02790 | 41 |
Six Massachusetts cities with population within ±25% of Westport. 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.