In 2025, fire departments serving Barrington responded to 94 fire and hazmat incidents — from cooking fires to gas leaks to a single $436K building blaze. Here's the full picture.
Power line down lead by count. Building fires lead by dollars. Together the top five categories make up about 70% of all calls.
Aug peaks. May dips. Watch for the typical fall climb starting in October.
382 incidents 2021–2025. Peak year was 2021. $1.3M cumulative property loss.
| Year | Incidents | YoY | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2021 | 94 | — | |
| 2022 | 46 | -51.1% | |
| 2023 | 65 | +41.3% | |
| 2024 | 83 | +27.7% | |
| 2025 | 94 | +13.3% |
For the 18 building fires Barrington departments responded to in 2025, here's how they were classified once investigators were finished.
NFIRS Area of Origin (AREA_ORIG) for the 74 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 | Outside area, other | 15 | 20.3% | |
| 2 | Wildland, woods | 11 | 14.9% | |
| 3 | Undetermined | 10 | 13.5% | |
| 4 | Engine area, running gear, wheel area | 7 | 9.5% | |
| 5 | Cooking area, kitchen | 4 | 5.4% | |
| 6 | Common room, den, family room, living room, lounge | 3 | 4.1% | |
| 7 | Vehicle area, other | 3 | 4.1% | |
| 8 | Open area - outside; included are farmland, field | 3 | 4.1% | |
| 9 | Other | 2 | 2.7% | |
| 10 | Bedroom - < 5 persons; included are jail or prison | 2 | 2.7% | |
| 11 | All other areas | 14 | 18.9% |
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 Barrington mix.
| # | Heat source | Count | Share | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Undetermined | 33 | 44.6% | |
| 2 | Heat source: other | 10 | 13.5% | |
| 3 | Hot ember or ash | 6 | 8.1% | |
| 4 | Heat from powered equipment, other | 5 | 6.8% | |
| 5 | Hot or smoldering object, other | 4 | 5.4% | |
| 6 | Radiated, conducted heat from operating equipment | 3 | 4.1% | |
| 7 | Arcing | 3 | 4.1% | |
| 8 | Spark, ember or flame from operating equipment | 2 | 2.7% | |
| 9 | Flying brand, ember, spark | 2 | 2.7% | |
| 10 | Heat, spark from friction | 1 | 1.4% | |
| 11 | All other sources | 5 | 6.8% |
Largest single-incident property losses reported by Barrington departments in 2025. These 8 fires alone account for 100% of the city's annual total.
| # | Property loss | Type | Severity | Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | $436,100 | Building fires | Major | Investigated |
| 2 | $300,000 | Building fires | Major | Investigated |
| 3 | $70,000 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
| 4 | $15,000 | Passenger vehicle fire | Significant | Investigated |
| 5 | $15,000 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
| 6 | $10,000 | Road freight or transport vehicle fire | Significant | Investigated |
| 7 | $10,000 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
| 8 | $1,000 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
Per-capita rates let us compare apples to apples. Barrington sits above the national average for incidents per resident.
Top 25 wildfires (1992+) in the FPA-FOD ignitions database, scaled by acres. 1,804 acres burned in this 50-mile radius. Each dot is a fire — bigger dots burned more land.
| Year | Cause | Acres | Distance | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2018 | Debris and open burning | 314 | 22.5 mi | |
| 2015 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 275 | 40.8 mi | |
| 2001 | Misuse of fire by a minor | 236 | 48.6 mi | |
| 2007 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 186 | 41.1 mi | |
| 2015 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 92 | 30.2 mi | |
| 2014 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 90 | 49.5 mi | |
| 2015 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 59 | 28.5 mi | |
| 2019 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 54 | 42.6 mi | |
| 2015 | Smoking | 50 | 49.7 mi | |
| 2016 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 50 | 23.4 mi | |
| 2016 | Arson/incendiarism | 42 | 40.2 mi | |
| 2016 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 41 | 19.5 mi |
Top 4 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 Barrington. Useful comparison targets — same state, similar size, different fire profile.
1 departments report to NFIRS for incidents in Barrington.
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.