Massachusetts

Data confidence: moderate (75/100)

Overall Fireground Index

Higher score = lower civilian fire-death rate.

Fire-death rate (5-year): 0.66; per 100,000 residents / yr
Civilian fire deaths: 235; 2017-2021 total
Population: 7,136,171; U.S. Census (2024)
Public sources: 2; 3 metrics used · 4 unavailable

Every value is drawn from an authoritative public source. The Overall score normalizes the one fire metric that is genuinely comparable across all counties — the civilian fire-death rate (Massachusetts Department of Fire Services counts, per Census population). Where counties publish incident/response figures, we show them as sourced context; where no public source exists, we say so. Data Confidence reflects how much verifiable public evidence backs each county.

County-equivalents

14 counties

Confidence mix

0·13·1

high · moderate · limited

With incident data

counties publishing responses

County rankings

Massachusetts counties by Overall Fireground Index

Ranked by the normalized civilian fire-death rate — the one comparable metric. Confidence flags where small counts or sparse reporting make a county's profile less certain. Select a county for its full evidence profile.

Massachusetts counties ranked by Overall Fireground Index, with fire-death rate, five-year deaths, and data confidence.
Rank	County	Index	Fire-death rate	Deaths (5yr)	Confidence
1	Dukes County21,061 pop.	73	0.00	0	limited
2	Essex County823,938 pop.	65	0.29	12	moderate
3	Suffolk County793,144 pop.	63	0.40	16	moderate
4	Norfolk County740,754 pop.	62	0.43	16	moderate
5	Plymouth County542,090 pop.	60	0.52	14	moderate
6	Middlesex County1,668,956 pop.	59	0.55	46	moderate
7	Hampshire County165,399 pop.	58	0.60	5	moderate
8	Barnstable County232,570 pop.	54	0.77	9	moderate
9	Worcester County881,248 pop.	54	0.75	33	moderate
10	Bristol County588,593 pop.	50	0.92	27	moderate
11	Hampden County464,151 pop.	40	1.34	31	moderate
12	Nantucket County14,670 pop.	39	1.36	1	moderate
13	Berkshire County128,726 pop.	12	2.49	16	moderate
14	Franklin County70,871 pop.	11	2.54	9	moderate

Full rankings (14) →

This public scorecard is free and fully sourced. Fireground Analytics is the premium, department-level product — risk-adjusted benchmarking, grant intelligence, and the operational analysis behind these public indicators.

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