In 2025, fire departments serving York responded to 199 fire and hazmat incidents — from cooking fires to gas leaks to a single $140K building blaze. Here's the full picture.
Power line down lead by count. Building fires lead by dollars. Together the top five categories make up about 64% of all calls.
Aug peaks. Dec dips. Watch for the typical fall climb starting in October.
1,312 incidents 2021–2025. Peak year was 2023. $1.9M cumulative property loss.
| Year | Incidents | YoY | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2021 | 227 | — | |
| 2022 | 185 | -18.5% | |
| 2023 | 380 | +105.4% | |
| 2024 | 321 | -15.5% | |
| 2025 | 199 | -38.0% |
For the 22 building fires York departments responded to in 2025, here's how they were classified once investigators were finished.
NFIRS Area of Origin (AREA_ORIG) for the 130 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 | 31 | 23.8% | |
| 2 | Engine area, running gear, wheel area | 18 | 13.8% | |
| 3 | Cooking area, kitchen | 14 | 10.8% | |
| 4 | Vehicle area, other | 7 | 5.4% | |
| 5 | Other | 5 | 3.8% | |
| 6 | Substructure area or space, crawl space | 5 | 3.8% | |
| 7 | Cargo/trunk area - all vehicles | 5 | 3.8% | |
| 8 | Outside area, other | 5 | 3.8% | |
| 9 | Equipment or service area, other | 3 | 2.3% | |
| 10 | Exterior balcony, unenclosed porch | 3 | 2.3% | |
| 11 | All other areas | 34 | 26.2% |
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 York mix.
| # | Heat source | Count | Share | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Undetermined | 53 | 40.8% | |
| 2 | Arcing | 21 | 16.2% | |
| 3 | Heat, spark from friction | 9 | 6.9% | |
| 4 | Heat source: other | 7 | 5.4% | |
| 5 | Radiated, conducted heat from operating equipment | 7 | 5.4% | |
| 6 | Heat from powered equipment, other | 6 | 4.6% | |
| 7 | Spark, ember or flame from operating equipment | 3 | 2.3% | |
| 8 | Hot or smoldering object, other | 3 | 2.3% | |
| 9 | Hot ember or ash | 3 | 2.3% | |
| 10 | Heat from direct flame, convection currents | 3 | 2.3% | |
| 11 | All other sources | 15 | 11.5% |
Largest single-incident property losses reported by York departments in 2025. These 6 fires alone account for 100% of the city's annual total.
| # | Property loss | Type | Severity | Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | $140,000 | Road freight or transport vehicle fire | Significant | Investigated |
| 2 | $15,000 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
| 3 | $12,995 | Passenger vehicle fire | Significant | Investigated |
| 4 | $10,000 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
| 5 | $5,000 | Chimney or flue fire, confined to chimney or flue | Significant | Investigated |
| 6 | $1,200 | Passenger vehicle fire | Significant | Investigated |
Per-capita rates let us compare apples to apples. York sits above the national average for incidents per resident.
Top 25 wildfires (1992+) in the FPA-FOD ignitions database, scaled by acres. 1,469 acres burned in this 50-mile radius. Each dot is a fire — bigger dots burned more land.
| Year | Cause | Acres | Distance | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2018 | Debris and open burning | 314 | 14.1 mi | |
| 2001 | Misuse of fire by a minor | 236 | 36.2 mi | |
| 2007 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 186 | 43.0 mi | |
| 2015 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 92 | 48.0 mi | |
| 2014 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 90 | 49.4 mi | |
| 2015 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 59 | 47.6 mi | |
| 2019 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 54 | 42.4 mi | |
| 2016 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 50 | 32.9 mi | |
| 2016 | Arson/incendiarism | 42 | 28.0 mi | |
| 2016 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 41 | 38.5 mi | |
| 2009 | Debris and open burning | 40 | 13.5 mi | |
| 2020 | Arson/incendiarism | 33 | 21.3 mi |
Top 4 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 York. Useful comparison targets — same state, similar size, different fire profile.
2 departments report to NFIRS for incidents in York.
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.