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2025 County Report

Fires in Bristol County, MA

In 2025, fire departments serving Bristol County responded to 3,144 fire and hazmat incidents — including a single $1.2M property loss.

584,681 residents FIPS 25005 131 cities · 18 fire depts
Total incidents
3,144
17,323 across 5 years
Building fires
304
246 wildland
Property loss
$15.6M
$12.6M structure · $3.0M contents
Casualties
3 / 36
3 civ deaths · 28 civ inj · 8 FF inj
01 The mix

What kinds of fires happen here?

Gas leak (natural gas or LPG) lead by count. Top five categories make up about 51% of all calls.

3,144
Total Incidents
Gas leak (natural gas or LPG) 463 14.7%
Unauthorized burning 363 11.5%
Building fires 304 9.7%
Carbon monoxide incident 243 7.7%
Power line down 228 7.3%
All other categories 1,543 49.1%
02 Seasonality

When do fires happen in Bristol County?

Jul peaks. Dec dips.

Jan 275
Feb 219
Mar 294
Apr 254
May 252
Jun 252
Jul 384
Aug 303
Sep 220
Oct 287
Nov 243
Dec 161
03 Five-year trend

Year over year in Bristol County

17,323 incidents from 2021 through 2025.

YearIncidents 
2021 3,191
2022 3,528
2023 3,751
2024 3,709
2025 3,144
04 Cause of ignition

What sparks building fires?

For the 304 building fires departments responded to in 2025, here's how investigators classified them.

Unintentional
55%
414
Cause undetermined
29%
217
Intentional / arson
3%
19
Equipment / heat source failure
6%
46
Under investigation
5%
40
Act of nature (lightning)
2%
5
05 The biggest fires

10 fires · $5.1M in losses

Largest single-incident property losses in Bristol County during 2025. These 10 fires alone account for 40% of the county's total.

#Property lossCityTypeSeverity
1 $1,200,000 Dartmouth Aircraft fire Major
2 $600,000 FALL RIVER Building fires Major
3 $565,000 FALL RIVER Building fires Major
4 $500,000 FALL RIVER Building fires Major
5 $500,000 FREETOWN Building fires Major
6 $393,000 NEW BEDFORD Building fires Major
7 $348,600 NEW BEDFORD Building fires Major
8 $348,600 NEW BEDFORD Building fires Major
9 $300,000 NORTH EASTON Building fires Major
10 $300,000 FALL RIVER Building fires Major
06 How Bristol County compares

Bristol County vs MA vs the nation

Per-capita rates let us compare apples to apples.

5.38
Incidents per 1,000 residents
Bristol County
5.38
MA avg
8.76
US avg
7.15
0.52
Building fires per 1,000 residents
Bristol County
0.52
MA avg
0.58
US avg
0.82
5.1
Civilian fire deaths per million
Bristol County
5.1
MA avg
2.8
US avg
5.8
07 Cities in this county

Largest cities in Bristol County

12 cities mapped to FIPS 25005.

08 First responders

Busiest fire departments in Bristol County

18 departments report from this county.

FALL RIVER
—
FDID 05095 952 incidents
NEW BEDFORD
—
FDID 05201 765 incidents
ATTLEBORO
—
FDID 05016 383 incidents
EASTON
—
FDID 05088 232 incidents
NORTH ATTLEBORO
—
FDID 05211 196 incidents
09 Historical wildfires

Largest fires recorded in MA

Top 10 fire perimeters by acres burned (state-scoped fallback while we build out per-county polygons).

#NameYearAgencyAcres
1 Mt Tom 2014 FWS 23
2 Highlands Wildfire 2013 NPS 6
3 20217SPB Plot 9 2021 NPS 2
4 0021720210525 SPB Plot 203 2021 NPS 2
5 20210707SPB15_14Rx 2021 NPS 2
6 SPB Plot #10 2021 NPS 1
7 00217420210527 SPB Plot 19 Rx 2021 NPS 1
8 PTownPearsols_CPB_2021 2021 NPS 1
9 Pilgrim Springs_CPB_20210204 2021 NPS 1
10 Highland Center_CPB_20210406 2021 NPS 1

About this data

County-level NFIRS aggregates for 2025, plus 5-year totals across 2021–2025. NFIRS is voluntary — about 23,000 of roughly 30,000 US fire departments report — so totals are a strong indicator, not a complete census. Wildfire risk score (0–100) and Expected Annual Loss come from FEMA's National Risk Index. Drought class is the most recent USDM classification (D0 = abnormally dry through D4 = exceptional drought). Historical fire perimeters are sourced from the NIFC InterAgency Fire Perimeter History.