In 2025, fire departments serving Amherst responded to 94 fire and hazmat incidents — from cooking fires to gas leaks to a single $8K 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 69% of all calls.
Mar peaks. Oct dips. Watch for the typical fall climb starting in October.
460 incidents 2021–2025. Peak year was 2023. $144K cumulative property loss.
| Year | Incidents | YoY | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2021 | 82 | — | |
| 2022 | 94 | +14.6% | |
| 2023 | 101 | +7.4% | |
| 2024 | 89 | -11.9% | |
| 2025 | 94 | +5.6% |
For the 22 building fires Amherst departments responded to in 2025, here's how they were classified once investigators were finished.
NFIRS Area of Origin (AREA_ORIG) for the 44 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 | Other | 6 | 13.6% | |
| 2 | Cooking area, kitchen | 5 | 11.4% | |
| 3 | Outside area, other | 5 | 11.4% | |
| 4 | Open area - outside; included are farmland, field | 5 | 11.4% | |
| 5 | Undetermined | 4 | 9.1% | |
| 6 | Engine area, running gear, wheel area | 3 | 6.8% | |
| 7 | Common room, den, family room, living room, lounge | 2 | 4.5% | |
| 8 | Vehicle storage area; garage, carport | 2 | 4.5% | |
| 9 | Vehicle area, other | 2 | 4.5% | |
| 10 | Exterior stairway, ramp, or fire escape | 1 | 2.3% | |
| 11 | All other areas | 9 | 20.5% |
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 Amherst mix.
| # | Heat source | Count | Share | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Undetermined | 13 | 29.5% | |
| 2 | Heat source: other | 8 | 18.2% | |
| 3 | Heat from powered equipment, other | 4 | 9.1% | |
| 4 | Arcing | 4 | 9.1% | |
| 5 | Radiated, conducted heat from operating equipment | 3 | 6.8% | |
| 6 | Spark, ember or flame from operating equipment | 2 | 4.5% | |
| 7 | Hot ember or ash | 2 | 4.5% | |
| 8 | Cigarette | 2 | 4.5% | |
| 9 | Flame/torch used for lighting | 2 | 4.5% | |
| 10 | Hot or smoldering object, other | 1 | 2.3% | |
| 11 | All other sources | 3 | 6.8% |
Largest single-incident property losses reported by Amherst departments in 2025. These 6 fires alone account for 100% of the city's annual total.
| # | Property loss | Type | Severity | Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | $7,500 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
| 2 | $5,000 | Passenger vehicle fire | Significant | Investigated |
| 3 | $1,000 | Vehicle accident, general cleanup | Significant | Investigated |
| 4 | $600 | Cooking fire, confined to container | Significant | Investigated |
| 5 | $300 | Passenger vehicle fire | Significant | Investigated |
| 6 | $1 | Brush, or brush and grass mixture fire | Significant | Investigated |
Per-capita rates let us compare apples to apples. Amherst sits above the national average for incidents per resident.
Top 25 wildfires (1992+) in the FPA-FOD ignitions database, scaled by acres. 4,061 acres burned in this 50-mile radius. Each dot is a fire — bigger dots burned more land.
| Year | Cause | Acres | Distance | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2005 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 800 | 25.9 mi | |
| 2008 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 700 | 25.9 mi | |
| 2003 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 300 | 46.1 mi | |
| 2002 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 300 | 25.9 mi | |
| 2014 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 256 | 26.0 mi | |
| 2015 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 250 | 25.5 mi | |
| 2016 | Arson/incendiarism | 190 | 27.1 mi | |
| 2007 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 186 | 34.4 mi | |
| 2016 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 172 | 25.8 mi | |
| 2004 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 120 | 35.8 mi | |
| 2015 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 92 | 40.0 mi | |
| 2014 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 90 | 42.2 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 Amherst. Useful comparison targets — same state, similar size, different fire profile.
1 departments report to NFIRS for incidents in Amherst.
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.