In 2025, fire departments serving Ashland responded to 28 fire and hazmat incidents — from cooking fires to gas leaks to a single $40K building blaze. Here's the full picture.
Hazardous condition, other lead by count. Building fires lead by dollars. Together the top five categories make up about 57% of all calls.
Dec peaks. Feb dips. Watch for the typical fall climb starting in October.
186 incidents 2021–2025. Peak year was 2024. $233K cumulative property loss. 1 civilian deaths.
| Year | Incidents | YoY | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2021 | 32 | — | |
| 2022 | 41 | +28.1% | |
| 2023 | 40 | -2.4% | |
| 2024 | 45 | +12.5% | |
| 2025 | 28 | -37.8% |
For the 1 building fires Ashland departments responded to in 2025, here's how they were classified once investigators were finished.
NFIRS Area of Origin (AREA_ORIG) for the 24 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 | Open area - outside; included are farmland, field | 5 | 20.8% | |
| 2 | Undetermined | 4 | 16.7% | |
| 3 | Outside area, other | 3 | 12.5% | |
| 4 | Common room, den, family room, living room, lounge | 2 | 8.3% | |
| 5 | Cooking area, kitchen | 2 | 8.3% | |
| 6 | Engine area, running gear, wheel area | 2 | 8.3% | |
| 7 | Heating room or area, water heater area | 1 | 4.2% | |
| 8 | Attic: vacant, crawl space above top story, cupola | 1 | 4.2% | |
| 9 | Wall assembly | 1 | 4.2% | |
| 10 | Operator/passenger area of transportation equip. | 1 | 4.2% | |
| 11 | All other areas | 2 | 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 Ashland mix.
| # | Heat source | Count | Share | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Undetermined | 6 | 25.0% | |
| 2 | Heat from powered equipment, other | 5 | 20.8% | |
| 3 | Arcing | 4 | 16.7% | |
| 4 | Incendiary device | 2 | 8.3% | |
| 5 | Radiated, conducted heat from operating equipment | 1 | 4.2% | |
| 6 | Hot or smoldering object, other | 1 | 4.2% | |
| 7 | Hot ember or ash | 1 | 4.2% | |
| 8 | Cigarette lighter | 1 | 4.2% | |
| 9 | Lightning | 1 | 4.2% | |
| 10 | Flying brand, ember, spark | 1 | 4.2% | |
| 11 | All other sources | 1 | 4.2% |
Largest single-incident property losses reported by Ashland departments in 2025. These 2 fires alone account for 100% of the city's annual total.
| # | Property loss | Type | Severity | Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | $40,000 | Passenger vehicle fire | Significant | Investigated |
| 2 | $750 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
Per-capita rates let us compare apples to apples. Ashland sits above the national average for incidents per resident.
Top 25 wildfires (1992+) in the FPA-FOD ignitions database, scaled by acres. 1,699 acres burned in this 50-mile radius. Each dot is a fire — bigger dots burned more land.
| Year | Cause | Acres | Distance | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2016 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 329 | 27.9 mi | |
| 2015 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 275 | 19.5 mi | |
| 2004 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 139 | 32.7 mi | |
| 2015 | Power generation/transmission/distribution | 137 | 39.0 mi | |
| 2012 | Debris and open burning | 120 | 38.0 mi | |
| 2015 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 92 | 18.8 mi | |
| 2017 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 72 | 23.8 mi | |
| 1995 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 60 | 42.4 mi | |
| 2015 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 59 | 34.3 mi | |
| 2008 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 54 | 11.9 mi | |
| 2016 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 50 | 29.4 mi | |
| 2016 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 47 | 41.5 mi |
Top 1 ZIP codes by NFIRS incident count across 2021–2025. Each ZIP has its own fire profile — dive in for neighborhood-level context.
| # | ZIP | 5-yr incidents | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 03217 | 186 |
Six New Hampshire cities with population within ±25% of Ashland. Useful comparison targets — same state, similar size, different fire profile.
1 departments report to NFIRS for incidents in Ashland.
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.