In 2025, fire departments serving Belmont responded to 172 fire and hazmat incidents — from cooking fires to gas leaks to a single $60K 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 54% of all calls.
Jul peaks. Jan dips. Watch for the typical fall climb starting in October.
635 incidents 2021–2025. Peak year was 2025. $1.0M cumulative property loss.
| Year | Incidents | YoY | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2021 | 139 | — | |
| 2022 | 80 | -42.4% | |
| 2023 | 93 | +16.2% | |
| 2024 | 151 | +62.4% | |
| 2025 | 172 | +13.9% |
For the 10 building fires Belmont departments responded to in 2025, here's how they were classified once investigators were finished.
NFIRS Area of Origin (AREA_ORIG) for the 95 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 | 23 | 24.2% | |
| 2 | Open area - outside; included are farmland, field | 15 | 15.8% | |
| 3 | Undetermined | 15 | 15.8% | |
| 4 | Engine area, running gear, wheel area | 6 | 6.3% | |
| 5 | Highway, parking lot, street: on or near | 5 | 5.3% | |
| 6 | Cooking area, kitchen | 4 | 4.2% | |
| 7 | Wildland, woods | 4 | 4.2% | |
| 8 | Exterior balcony, unenclosed porch | 3 | 3.2% | |
| 9 | Other | 2 | 2.1% | |
| 10 | Common room, den, family room, living room, lounge | 2 | 2.1% | |
| 11 | All other areas | 16 | 16.8% |
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 Belmont mix.
| # | Heat source | Count | Share | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Undetermined | 42 | 44.2% | |
| 2 | Radiated, conducted heat from operating equipment | 8 | 8.4% | |
| 3 | Hot ember or ash | 8 | 8.4% | |
| 4 | Flame/torch used for lighting | 7 | 7.4% | |
| 5 | Arcing | 6 | 6.3% | |
| 6 | Cigarette | 5 | 5.3% | |
| 7 | Spark, ember or flame from operating equipment | 4 | 4.2% | |
| 8 | Chemical reaction | 4 | 4.2% | |
| 9 | Heat from powered equipment, other | 3 | 3.2% | |
| 10 | Heat source: other | 2 | 2.1% | |
| 11 | All other sources | 6 | 6.3% |
Largest single-incident property losses reported by Belmont departments in 2025. These 7 fires alone account for 100% of the city's annual total.
| # | Property loss | Type | Severity | Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | $60,000 | Passenger vehicle fire | Significant | Investigated |
| 2 | $20,000 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
| 3 | $15,000 | Passenger vehicle fire | Significant | Investigated |
| 4 | $15,000 | Forest, woods or wildland fire | Significant | Investigated |
| 5 | $10,000 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
| 6 | $8,000 | Passenger vehicle fire | Significant | Investigated |
| 7 | $1,200 | Fire, other | Significant | Investigated |
Per-capita rates let us compare apples to apples. Belmont sits above the national average for incidents per resident.
Top 25 wildfires (1992+) in the FPA-FOD ignitions database, scaled by acres. 2,066 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 | 38.9 mi | |
| 2018 | Debris and open burning | 314 | 41.0 mi | |
| 2015 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 275 | 24.5 mi | |
| 2016 | Arson/incendiarism | 190 | 41.4 mi | |
| 2004 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 139 | 43.9 mi | |
| 2015 | Power generation/transmission/distribution | 137 | 50.0 mi | |
| 2015 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 92 | 3.9 mi | |
| 2017 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 72 | 42.4 mi | |
| 2015 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 59 | 18.5 mi | |
| 2008 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 54 | 29.3 mi | |
| 2016 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 50 | 20.2 mi | |
| 2016 | Arson/incendiarism | 46 | 42.0 mi |
Top 5 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 Belmont. Useful comparison targets — same state, similar size, different fire profile.
1 departments report to NFIRS for incidents in Belmont.
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.