In 2025, fire departments serving Franklin County responded to 853 fire and hazmat incidents — including a single $1.7M property loss.
Power line down lead by count. Top five categories make up about 55% of all calls.
Apr peaks. Dec dips.
5,480 incidents from 2021 through 2025.
| Year | Incidents | |
|---|---|---|
| 2021 | 1,069 | |
| 2022 | 1,003 | |
| 2023 | 1,311 | |
| 2024 | 1,244 | |
| 2025 | 853 |
For the 109 building fires departments responded to in 2025, here's how investigators classified them.
Largest single-incident property losses in Franklin County during 2025. These 10 fires alone account for 94% of the county's total.
| # | Property loss | City | Type | Severity |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | $1,700,000 | AMHERST | Building fires | Major |
| 2 | $848,000 | Shelburne | Building fires | Major |
| 3 | $750,000 | AMHERST | Building fires | Major |
| 4 | $500,000 | PELHAM | Building fires | Major |
| 5 | $352,300 | AMHERST | Building fires | Major |
| 6 | $250,000 | AMHERST | Building fires | Major |
| 7 | $220,000 | GREENFIELD | Building fires | Significant |
| 8 | $200,000 | Whately | Building fires | Significant |
| 9 | $200,000 | SHELBURNE FALLS | Building fires | Significant |
| 10 | $65,000 | GREENFIELD | Passenger vehicle fire | Significant |
Per-capita rates let us compare apples to apples.
12 cities mapped to FIPS 25011.
| City | Population | |
|---|---|---|
| Montague | 8,527 | View › |
| Orange | 7,584 | View › |
| Deerfield | 5,125 | View › |
| Turners Falls | 3,838 | View › |
| Sunderland | 3,658 | View › |
| Northfield | 2,871 | View › |
| Bernardston | 2,036 | View › |
| Buckland | 2,004 | View › |
| South Deerfield | 1,953 | View › |
| Ashfield | 1,838 | View › |
| Leverett | 1,793 | View › |
| Conway | 1,773 | View › |
30 departments report from this county.
Top 10 fire perimeters by acres burned (state-scoped fallback while we build out per-county polygons).
| # | Name | Year | Agency | Acres |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 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 |
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.