In 2025, fire departments serving Alstead responded to 46 fire and hazmat incidents — from cooking fires to gas leaks to a single $275K building blaze. Here's the full picture.
Building fires lead by count. Building fires lead by dollars. Together the top five categories make up about 76% of all calls.
Mar peaks. Aug dips. Watch for the typical fall climb starting in October.
172 incidents 2021–2025. Peak year was 2025. $521K cumulative property loss.
| Year | Incidents | YoY | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2021 | 29 | — | |
| 2022 | 23 | -20.7% | |
| 2023 | 33 | +43.5% | |
| 2024 | 41 | +24.2% | |
| 2025 | 46 | +12.2% |
For the 11 building fires Alstead departments responded to in 2025, here's how they were classified once investigators were finished.
NFIRS Area of Origin (AREA_ORIG) for the 12 building fires investigators classified across 2021–2025. The room or location where ignition occurred — kitchens, bedrooms, exterior, vehicle areas — tells you where to focus prevention.
| # | Area of origin | Count | Share | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Undetermined | 4 | 33.3% | |
| 2 | Engine area, running gear, wheel area | 2 | 16.7% | |
| 3 | Storage area, other | 1 | 8.3% | |
| 4 | Service facilities, other | 1 | 8.3% | |
| 5 | Maintenance shop or area, paint shop or area | 1 | 8.3% | |
| 6 | Wall assembly | 1 | 8.3% | |
| 7 | Open area - outside; included are farmland, field | 1 | 8.3% | |
| 8 | Wildland, woods | 1 | 8.3% |
NFIRS Heat Source (HEAT_SOURC) — the physical thing that started it. Spark or ember from operating equipment, an open flame, smoking materials, or hot embers from a fireplace are the leading culprits nationwide. Here's the Alstead mix.
| # | Heat source | Count | Share | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Undetermined | 6 | 50.0% | |
| 2 | Hot ember or ash | 3 | 25.0% | |
| 3 | Arcing | 2 | 16.7% | |
| 4 | Multiple heat sources including multiple ignitions | 1 | 8.3% |
Largest single-incident property losses reported by Alstead departments in 2025. These 2 fires alone account for 100% of the city's annual total.
| # | Property loss | Type | Severity | Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | $275,000 | Building fires | Major | Investigated |
| 2 | $33,000 | Mobile property (vehicle) fire, other | Significant | Investigated |
Per-capita rates let us compare apples to apples. Alstead sits above the national average for incidents per resident.
Top 25 wildfires (1992+) in the FPA-FOD ignitions database, scaled by acres. 1,435 acres burned in this 50-mile radius. Each dot is a fire — bigger dots burned more land.
| Year | Cause | Acres | Distance | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1992 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 270 | 33.6 mi | |
| 2016 | Arson/incendiarism | 190 | 12.4 mi | |
| 2015 | Power generation/transmission/distribution | 137 | 42.4 mi | |
| 2004 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 120 | 35.7 mi | |
| 2015 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 92 | 44.7 mi | |
| 2018 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 60 | 34.4 mi | |
| 2015 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 59 | 36.0 mi | |
| 2020 | Natural | 55 | 45.4 mi | |
| 2015 | Power generation/transmission/distribution | 47 | 26.1 mi | |
| 2015 | Debris and open burning | 46 | 36.0 mi | |
| 2016 | Arson/incendiarism | 46 | 12.6 mi | |
| 2016 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 41 | 46.3 mi |
Top 3 ZIP codes by NFIRS incident count across 2021–2025. Each ZIP has its own fire profile — dive in for neighborhood-level context.
Six New Hampshire cities with population within ±25% of Alstead. Useful comparison targets — same state, similar size, different fire profile.
1 departments report to NFIRS for incidents in Alstead.
A 30-minute weekend can cut your home's exposure substantially. These four checklists are a good starting point.
Numbers reflect incidents reported by participating fire departments to the National Fire Incident Reporting System (NFIRS) Public Data Release for calendar year 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. Per-capita comparisons use 2023 ACS population estimates. Wildland fire data complements NFIRS with NIFC and USFS perimeters. Active-fire counts come from a dated NIFC snapshot, not a live feed.