Natural Hazard Loss Profile
Expected annual loss across the 18 natural hazards in FEMA's National Risk Index. Life safety is expressed in fatality-equivalents, combining expected deaths and injuries. Property loss counts building damage only, not agriculture.
These figures cover natural hazards only. Structure fire, EMS, and motor vehicle incidents are not in the National Risk Index, so this is not an all-cause life safety measure. For Worcester County, the largest single contributor is Cold Wave, 43% of the life-safety total.
Worcester County carries an expected 2 natural hazard fatality-equivalents and $138.4M in building loss per year. Rank chips compare the 14 Massachusetts counties. Nationally, Worcester County ranks 355th of 3,222 U.S. counties for life-safety loss, 3173rd for life safety per 100k residents, 151st for property loss, and 3061st for property loss per resident. Computed from census tract data covering every resident, independent of fire department boundaries.
Add fire mortality, cause, and loss
Natural hazard exposure is only part of the risk. Fire deaths and injuries, cause of ignition, and dollar loss per incident come from NERIS incident reporting, which grows as departments serving Worcester County enroll. Our Regional tier adds that data for the departments your jurisdiction sponsors, next to public risk and NERIS adoption for every department in Worcester County.
Talk to us about Worcester County See what a department seesLoss Breakdown
Total expected annual loss: $162,813,436 per year. Life safety is shown here in dollars, at FEMA's $13.7M value of statistical life, so the three shares sum to the total.
Hazards Ranked Two Ways
The hazard that threatens people is often not the hazard that destroys buildings. Both columns cover the same 18 hazards over the same year.
By life-safety loss ($/yr)
By property loss ($/yr)
Census Tract Risk Map
Shaded by quintile across the census tracts in Worcester County. Gray tracts have no modeled loss or no resident population. Per-resident figures on this map use the National Risk Index 2020 tract population.
Fire Service Profile
Department composition covers the 62 departments registered in NERIS Public for Worcester County, MA. Departments that have not registered are not counted. Station coverage divides census population by registered stations; department service areas overlap, so their populations are not summed.
Department Rankings
Fire and EMS departments serving Worcester County. Click column headers to sort.
NRI Rating is from FEMA's National Risk Index, which measures community risk across 18 natural hazards using expected annual losses, social vulnerability, and community resilience. Life-Safety Loss uses FEMA's Value of Statistical Life ($13.7M per expected fatality) to estimate annual risk to human life.
Department boundaries and station counts are self-reported through NERIS Public and may not reflect current service areas. Population and Life-Safety Loss reflect each department's full jurisdiction. County-level risk metrics are computed from census tract data and are not affected by boundary accuracy. See full methodology.
| Department ▲ | Est. Population ▲ | Life-Safety Loss ▼ | NRI Rating ▲ | Stations ▲ |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Worcester Fire Department | 214,155 | $5.5M | Relatively Low | 24 |
| City Of Leominster Fire Department | 44,182 | $1.2M | Relatively Low | 3 |
| Fitchburg Fire Department | 42,244 | $1.2M | Relatively Low | 3 |
| Shrewsbury Fire Department | 39,868 | $967.0K | Very Low | 3 |
| Milford Fire Department | 31,208 | $798.7K | Relatively Low | 2 |
| Gardner Fire Department | 21,583 | $594.2K | Very Low | 2 |
| Westborough Fire Department | 22,462 | $569.1K | Relatively Low | 2 |
| Holden Fire Department | 20,576 | $563.5K | Very Low | 4 |
| Grafton Fire Department | 20,451 | $489.8K | Relatively Low | 3 |
| Town Of Southbridge Fire Department | 18,062 | $487.7K | Relatively Moderate | 1 |
| Webster Fire Department | 18,201 | $462.2K | Relatively Moderate | 2 |
| Auburn Fire Department | 17,403 | $447.1K | Very Low | 2 |
| Northbridge Fire Department | 16,878 | $425.1K | Relatively Low | 1 |
| Clinton Fire Department | 15,960 | $421.2K | Very Low | 1 |
| Town Of Northborough Fire Department | 16,152 | $401.5K | Relatively Low | 2 |
| Uxbridge Fire Department | 14,828 | $359.9K | Relatively Low | 2 |
| Millbury Fire Department | 14,317 | $355.1K | Relatively Low | 4 |
| Charlton Fire Department | 13,778 | $352.2K | Relatively Low | 3 |
| Spencer Fire Department | 12,314 | $344.2K | Relatively Low | 2 |
| Athol Fire Department | 12,317 | $339.0K | Relatively Moderate | 2 |
| Oxford Fire And Emergency Services | 13,727 | $337.4K | Relatively Moderate | 4 |
| Lunenburg Fire Department | 12,206 | $325.6K | Relatively Low | 2 |
| Leicester Fire Department | 11,397 | $313.0K | Relatively Low | 3 |
| Dudley Fire Department | 12,233 | $311.7K | Relatively Low | 1 |
| Winchendon Fire Department | 10,706 | $284.2K | Very Low | 1 |
| Town Of Sturbridge Fire Department | 10,214 | $267.0K | Very Low | 1 |
| Southborough Fire Department | 10,761 | $263.0K | Relatively Low | 5 |
| Rutland Fire Department | 9,592 | $252.6K | Very Low | 1 |
| Sutton Fire Department | 9,693 | $234.9K | Relatively Low | 3 |
| Town Of Blackstone Fire Department | 9,491 | $227.8K | Very Low | 3 |
| Westminster Fire Department | 8,622 | $226.8K | Relatively Low | 1 |
| Douglas Fire Department | 9,442 | $224.5K | Very Low | 2 |
| Templeton Fire Department | 8,463 | $223.3K | Very Low | 2 |
| West Boylston Fire Department | 7,981 | $222.6K | Very Low | 1 |
| Lancaster Fire Department | 8,516 | $221.4K | Relatively Moderate | 3 |
| Sterling Fire Department | 8,341 | $212.1K | Relatively Moderate | 2 |
| Upton Fire - Ems | 8,398 | $197.3K | Relatively Moderate | 2 |
| Ashburnham Fire Department | 6,579 | $175.1K | Relatively Low | 2 |
| Massport Fire Rescue | 4,963 | $173.3K | Very Low | 5 |
| Town Of Barre Fire Department | 5,714 | $158.2K | Relatively Moderate | 2 |
| Mendon Fire Department | 6,486 | $153.8K | Relatively Low | 3 |
| Hopedale Fire Department | 6,181 | $152.8K | Relatively Low | 2 |
| Bolton Fire Department | 5,883 | $152.7K | Relatively Low | 1 |
| Paxton Fire Department | 5,130 | $149.9K | Very Low | 1 |
| Warren Fire Department | 5,137 | $146.6K | Relatively Low | 2 |
| Harvard Fire Department | 5,726 | $146.2K | Very Low | 5 |
| North Brookfield Fire Department | 4,881 | $136.6K | Relatively Low | 1 |
| Boylston Fire Department | 5,074 | $130.3K | Very Low | 1 |
| Hubbardston Fire Department | 4,483 | $117.6K | Very Low | 2 |
| West Brookfield Fire Department | 3,957 | $114.1K | Relatively Moderate | 1 |
| Brookfield Fire Department | 3,548 | $103.2K | Relatively Low | 2 |
| Princeton Fire Department | 3,669 | $95.2K | Very Low | 3 |
| Berlin Fire Department | 3,464 | $82.8K | Very Low | 2 |
| Hardwick Fire Dept | 2,731 | $77.9K | Very Low | 1 |
| Millville Fire Rescue | 3,241 | $77.5K | Very Low | 3 |
| East Brookfield Fire Department | 2,221 | $66.4K | Very Low | 1 |
| Oakham Fire Department | 1,681 | $53.5K | Very Low | 1 |
| Phillipston Fire Department | 1,943 | $47.5K | Very Low | 1 |
| Devens Fire Department | 1,391 | $36.5K | Very Low | 2 |
| Royalston Fire Department | 1,497 | $34.0K | Very Low | 2 |
| Petersham Fire Department | 1,215 | $32.8K | Very Low | 1 |
| New Braintree Fire Department | 1,020 | $29.1K | Very Low | 1 |
Risk Snapshot
FEMA Disaster Declarations
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Our Regional tier gives state fire marshals and county fire authorities one briefing across every department in the jurisdiction: priority tracts ranked by risk and demand, NERIS adoption by county, and a quarterly report with a page per department. Response times appear for the departments you sponsor. Free 90-day pilot.
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