In 2025, fire departments serving Wiscasset responded to 37 fire and hazmat incidents — from cooking fires to gas leaks to a single $130K 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 54% of all calls.
Aug peaks. Mar dips. Watch for the typical fall climb starting in October.
231 incidents 2021–2025. Peak year was 2023. $279K cumulative property loss.
| Year | Incidents | YoY | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2021 | 34 | — | |
| 2022 | 42 | +23.5% | |
| 2023 | 62 | +47.6% | |
| 2024 | 56 | -9.7% | |
| 2025 | 37 | -33.9% |
For the 6 building fires Wiscasset departments responded to in 2025, here's how they were classified once investigators were finished.
NFIRS Area of Origin (AREA_ORIG) for the 35 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 | Cooking area, kitchen | 7 | 20.0% | |
| 2 | Engine area, running gear, wheel area | 7 | 20.0% | |
| 3 | Equipment or service area, other | 5 | 14.3% | |
| 4 | Common room, den, family room, living room, lounge | 2 | 5.7% | |
| 5 | Closet | 2 | 5.7% | |
| 6 | Exterior balcony, unenclosed porch | 2 | 5.7% | |
| 7 | Bathroom, checkroom, lavatory, locker room | 1 | 2.9% | |
| 8 | Processing/manufacturing area, workroom | 1 | 2.9% | |
| 9 | Storage: supplies or tools; dead storage | 1 | 2.9% | |
| 10 | Shipping/receiving area; loading area, dock or bay | 1 | 2.9% | |
| 11 | All other areas | 6 | 17.1% |
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 Wiscasset mix.
| # | Heat source | Count | Share | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Radiated, conducted heat from operating equipment | 10 | 28.6% | |
| 2 | Undetermined | 7 | 20.0% | |
| 3 | Spark, ember or flame from operating equipment | 6 | 17.1% | |
| 4 | Arcing | 4 | 11.4% | |
| 5 | Hot ember or ash | 2 | 5.7% | |
| 6 | Heat source: other | 1 | 2.9% | |
| 7 | Heat, spark from friction | 1 | 2.9% | |
| 8 | Cigarette | 1 | 2.9% | |
| 9 | Heat from undetermined smoking material | 1 | 2.9% | |
| 10 | Backfire from internal combustion engine | 1 | 2.9% | |
| 11 | All other sources | 1 | 2.9% |
Largest single-incident property losses reported by Wiscasset departments in 2025. These 4 fires alone account for 100% of the city's annual total.
| # | Property loss | Type | Severity | Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | $130,000 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
| 2 | $50,000 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
| 3 | $5,000 | Passenger vehicle fire | Significant | Investigated |
| 4 | $1,000 | Off-road vehicle or heavy equipment fire | Significant | Investigated |
Per-capita rates let us compare apples to apples. Wiscasset sits above the national average for incidents per resident.
Top 25 wildfires (1992+) in the FPA-FOD ignitions database, scaled by acres. 910 acres burned in this 50-mile radius. Each dot is a fire — bigger dots burned more land.
| Year | Cause | Acres | Distance | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2001 | Misuse of fire by a minor | 236 | 39.2 mi | |
| 2001 | Debris and open burning | 77 | 41.8 mi | |
| 2002 | Recreation and ceremony | 57 | 19.3 mi | |
| 2015 | Debris and open burning | 48 | 33.3 mi | |
| 2016 | Arson/incendiarism | 42 | 47.6 mi | |
| 2003 | Debris and open burning | 40 | 37.7 mi | |
| 2006 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 39 | 30.3 mi | |
| 2016 | Misuse of fire by a minor | 35 | 45.7 mi | |
| 2011 | Arson/incendiarism | 33 | 38.3 mi | |
| 2013 | Arson/incendiarism | 32 | 25.1 mi | |
| 2003 | Railroad operations and maintenance | 31 | 28.6 mi | |
| 1992 | Debris and open burning | 29 | 23.0 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 Maine cities with population within ±25% of Wiscasset. Useful comparison targets — same state, similar size, different fire profile.
1 departments report to NFIRS for incidents in Wiscasset.
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.