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2025 County Report

Fires in Washington County, ME

In 2025, fire departments serving Washington County responded to 31 fire and hazmat incidents.

28,703 residents FIPS 23029 108 cities · 5 fire depts
Total incidents
31
150 across 5 years
Building fires
10
6 wildland
Property loss
$0
$0 structure · $0 contents
Casualties
0 / 0
0 civ deaths · 0 civ inj · 0 FF inj
01 The mix

What kinds of fires happen here?

Building fires lead by count. Top five categories make up about 68% of all calls.

31
Total Incidents
Building fires 10 32.3%
Chimney or flue fire, confined to chimney or flue 3 9.7%
Trash or rubbish fire, contained 3 9.7%
Forest, woods or wildland fire 3 9.7%
Off-road vehicle or heavy equipment fire 2 6.5%
All other categories 10 32.3%
02 Seasonality

When do fires happen in Washington County?

Aug peaks. Nov dips.

Jan 4
Feb 2
Mar 3
Apr 2
May 3
Jun 2
Jul 3
Aug 6
Sep 5
Oct 1
Nov 0
Dec 0
03 Five-year trend

Year over year in Washington County

150 incidents from 2021 through 2025.

YearIncidents 
2021 16
2022 29
2023 29
2024 45
2025 31
04 Cause of ignition

What sparks building fires?

For the 10 building fires departments responded to in 2025, here's how investigators classified them.

Unintentional
100%
2
Cause undetermined
0%
0
Intentional / arson
0%
0
Equipment / heat source failure
0%
0
Under investigation
0%
0
Act of nature (lightning)
0%
0
06 How Washington County compares

Washington County vs ME vs the nation

Per-capita rates let us compare apples to apples.

1.08
Incidents per 1,000 residents
Washington County
1.08
ME avg
10.96
US avg
7.15
0.35
Building fires per 1,000 residents
Washington County
0.35
ME avg
1.72
US avg
0.82
0
Civilian fire deaths per million
Washington County
0
ME avg
3.6
US avg
5.8
07 Cities in this county

Largest cities in Washington County

12 cities mapped to FIPS 23029.

08 First responders

Busiest fire departments in Washington County

5 departments report from this county.

Calais FireEms Department
Calais
FDID P0090 44 incidents 12 paid
Machias Fire Department
Machias
FDID P3200 35 incidents 2 paid
Milbridge Fire Department
Milbridge
FDID P3410 14 incidents 12 vol
Marshfield Fire Department
Marshfield
FDID P3290 12 incidents 13 vol
Princeton Fire Department
Princeton
FDID P4110 8 incidents 20 vol
09 Historical wildfires

Largest fires recorded in ME

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

#NameYearAgencyAcres
1 MERCR-FY19-RX-Dean Tito 2019 FWS 10
2 Pooler Farm RX 2024 NPS 9
3 Brave Boat Harbor 2016 FWS 7
4 EASTMAN STREAM (OX COVE) 2010 FWS 7
5 MERCR-FY19-RX-Houston Field 2019 FWS 6
6 ROCKY BROOK 2011 PRI 6
7 Saint Croix Island RX 2021 NPS 2
8 MERCR-FY19-RX-Days Landing 2019 FWS 1
9 Jordan Pond RX 2024 NPS 1
10 Flye Farm RX 2024 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.