Maine
The Office of State Fire Marshal publishes authoritative statewide fire-death totals, but breaks the deaths down only by age, cause, and time — never by county — and the public data collector holds only a partial handful of recent incidents.
Why this state isn't scored
The Fireground Index scores one comparable metric — the civilian fire-death rate — computed from exact per-county death counts and Census population. For Maine, no public source provides those counts completely and unsuppressed for all 16 counties. Rather than publish estimated, partial, or suppressed figures, the state is shown here transparently.
Sources checked
| Source | What it provides |
|---|---|
| Maine Office of State Fire Marshal — annual reports (maine.gov/dps/fmo) | Authoritative, incident-based, unsuppressed statewide fire-death totals (e.g. 2023 = 29, 2024 = 16), but the fatality breakdown is by age / gender / hour / day / month / property use / cause only — there is no county fatality table. The report's many “by County” tables are department incident-volume counts, not deaths. |
| NASFM Fire Fatality Data Hub — Maine (incl. its public dashboard) | Populated but incomplete: the county-bearing layer holds only 13 records, all 2023 (11) / 2024 (2), summing to 15 fatalities — a gross undercount vs the ~16–29/yr statewide totals. Only ~9 of 16 counties appear, approval is mixed (10 approved / 3 submitted), and the county field is inconsistent (“Kennebec” vs “Kennebec County”). Not a census, so unlisted counties are not verifiable zeros. |
| data.maine.gov / Maine GeoLibrary & CDC WONDER (X00–X09 by county) | No Maine fire-fatality dataset on the open-data/GIS portals; CDC WONDER is residence-based and small-count suppressed (nearly every county blanked at ~0–3 deaths/yr). |
What failed the source gate
Every state must clear this public-source standard before it is scored:
- Public & authoritative (a state fire-marshal / fire-agency or primary record)
- County-level (or the jurisdiction's county-equivalents)
- Civilian fire deaths, incident-based (counted where the fire occurred; firefighter line-of-duty excluded)
- Exact counts — not rates, not statistically suppressed small cells
- All counties present, with zero-death counties verifiable (not ambiguous omission)
- A recent 5-year window, or a best-available clearly-labeled window
Not met for Maine:
- A per-county breakdown (the OSFM report is statewide-only for deaths)
- A complete census (NASFM has 13 records, ~9 of 16 counties, 2 years)
- Verifiable zeros (unlisted counties are not proven zeros)
- A consistent per-county grain (NASFM mixes “Kennebec” and “Kennebec County”)
What data would unlock scoring
A per-county (or complete town-mappable), incident-based civilian fire-death count table (all 16 counties, explicit zeros) for a recent window, reconcilable to the OSFM statewide totals.
Could a records request unlock it?
Likely yes. OSFM investigates every fatal fire (each tied to a town → cleanly county-mappable) and publishes exact statewide totals for reconciliation; a records request for a per-incident fatality list with town + date — or NASFM completing the Maine collection to an approved statewide census — would unlock scoring.
Relevant office: Maine Office of State Fire Marshal, Investigations Division (maine.gov/dps/fmo)
Have this data? Help make Maine scoreable.
If you work with a state fire marshal’s office, fire-service data program, or public-health agency and can share a complete, per-county civilian fire-death dataset, we will evaluate it against the public-source standard and — if it qualifies — publish a fully-cited scorecard for Maine.
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