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Risk & Response

Somerset County, ME

Community risk profile | NRI Score: 52.8 Relatively Moderate

50,959
Population
18
Departments
19
Stations
20
Census Tracts

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.

Natural Hazard Life Safety
0.76
expected fatality-equivalents per year, natural hazards only
3rd highest of 16
Life Safety per 100k
1.49
natural hazard fatality-equivalents per 100,000 residents
3rd highest of 16
Natural Hazard Property Loss
$14.6M
expected building loss per year, natural hazards only
9th highest of 16
Property Loss per Resident
$286
natural hazard building loss per resident per year
4th highest of 16

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 Somerset County, the largest single contributor is Cold Wave, 76% of the life-safety total.

Somerset County carries an expected under 1 natural hazard fatality-equivalents and $14.6M in building loss per year. Rank chips compare the 16 Maine counties. Nationally, Somerset County ranks 756th of 3,222 U.S. counties for life-safety loss, 1028th for life safety per 100k residents, 1147th for property loss, and 1971st 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 Somerset 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 Somerset County.

Talk to us about Somerset County See what a department sees

Loss Breakdown

55%
40%
Property (buildings): $14.6M (55.3%)
Life safety: $10.4M (39.6%)
Agriculture: $1.3M (5.1%)

Total expected annual loss: $26,323,097 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.

Agriculture is 5% of expected annual loss in Somerset County, so total loss overstates property loss here. The property figure above counts building loss only.

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)

Cold Wave
$8.0M
Lightning
$918K
Winter Weather
$575K
Strong Wind
$493K
Tornado
$144K
Inland Flooding
$86K

By property loss ($/yr)

Inland Flooding
$9.3M
Hurricane
$3.7M
Ice Storm
$896K
Earthquake
$372K
Hail
$119K
Winter Weather
$73K

Census Tract Risk Map

Shaded by quintile across the census tracts in Somerset 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

17%
83%
Combination: 17% (3)
Volunteer: 83% (15)
Residents per Station
2,682
census population per registered station
Stations per 100k
37.3
registered stations per 100,000 residents

Department composition covers the 18 departments registered in NERIS Public for Somerset County, ME. 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 Somerset 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.

Showing 18 departments
Department ▲ Est. Population ▲ Life-Safety Loss ▼ NRI Rating ▲ Stations ▲
Skowhegan Fire Department 37,950 $6.6M Relatively Moderate 1
Madison Fire Department 16,348 $3.5M Relatively Moderate 2
Fairfield Fire Rescue 23,684 $2.5M Relatively Moderate 1
Detroit Fire And Rescue 9,098 $1.4M Relatively Moderate 2
Norridgewock Fire Department 5,478 $1.0M Relatively Moderate 1
Jackman - Moose River Fire Department 3,118 $871.2K Relatively Moderate 1
Pittsfield Fire Department 3,974 $746.6K Relatively High 1
Saint Albans Fire Department 1,947 $391.5K Relatively High 1
Bingham Fire Department 1,127 $272.9K Relatively High 1
Solon Volunteer Fire Department 870 $271.1K Relatively Moderate 1
Cornville Volunteer Fire Department 1,321 $250.9K Relatively Moderate 1
Athens Volunteer Fire Department 975 $179.7K Relatively Low 1
Smithfield Volunteer Fire Department 895 $173.2K Relatively Moderate 1
Dexter Fire Department 1,406 $134.7K Relatively Low 1
Starks Fire Department 573 $111.0K Relatively Moderate 1
Rockwood Volunteer Fire/ Rescue 287 $66.2K Relatively High 1
Pleasant Ridge Plantation Volunteer Fire Department 143 $32.9K Relatively High 0
West Forks Volunteer Fire Department 97 $22.4K Relatively High 1
No departments match your search.

Risk Snapshot

14.2%
Poverty Rate
23.0%
Age 65+
19.4%
Disability Rate
7.5%
Uninsured
52.3%
Pre-1980 Housing
14.7%
Mobile Homes
23.0%
Vacancy Rate
16.5%
Wood Heat
$57,938
Median HH Income

FEMA Disaster Declarations

150
Last 10 Years
161
Last 25 Years
Biological
Most Frequent

Every department in your region, on one briefing

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.

Explore the Regional Tier See the Response Demo