In 2025, fire departments serving Bradford responded to 64 fire and hazmat incidents — from cooking fires to gas leaks to a single $50K building blaze. Here's the full picture.
Vehicle accident, general cleanup lead by count. Building fires lead by dollars. Together the top five categories make up about 53% of all calls.
Sep peaks. Feb dips. Watch for the typical fall climb starting in October.
226 incidents 2021–2025. Peak year was 2025. $846K cumulative property loss.
| Year | Incidents | YoY | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2021 | 40 | — | |
| 2022 | 59 | +47.5% | |
| 2023 | 33 | -44.1% | |
| 2024 | 30 | -9.1% | |
| 2025 | 64 | +113.3% |
For the 4 building fires Bradford departments responded to in 2025, here's how they were classified once investigators were finished.
NFIRS Area of Origin (AREA_ORIG) for the 21 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 | Vehicle storage area; garage, carport | 3 | 14.3% | |
| 2 | Undetermined | 3 | 14.3% | |
| 3 | Vehicle area, other | 2 | 9.5% | |
| 4 | Outside area, other | 2 | 9.5% | |
| 5 | Open area - outside; included are farmland, field | 2 | 9.5% | |
| 6 | Other | 1 | 4.8% | |
| 7 | Cooking area, kitchen | 1 | 4.8% | |
| 8 | Laundry area, wash house (laundry) | 1 | 4.8% | |
| 9 | Storage area, other | 1 | 4.8% | |
| 10 | Storage room, area, tank, or bin | 1 | 4.8% | |
| 11 | All other areas | 4 | 19.0% |
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 Bradford mix.
| # | Heat source | Count | Share | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Undetermined | 4 | 19.0% | |
| 2 | Heat from other open flame or smoking materials | 3 | 14.3% | |
| 3 | Cigarette lighter | 3 | 14.3% | |
| 4 | Heat from powered equipment, other | 2 | 9.5% | |
| 5 | Heat source: other | 1 | 4.8% | |
| 6 | Arcing | 1 | 4.8% | |
| 7 | Heat, spark from friction | 1 | 4.8% | |
| 8 | Hot ember or ash | 1 | 4.8% | |
| 9 | Match | 1 | 4.8% | |
| 10 | Backfire from internal combustion engine | 1 | 4.8% | |
| 11 | All other sources | 3 | 14.3% |
Largest single-incident property losses reported by Bradford departments in 2025. These 3 fires alone account for 100% of the city's annual total.
| # | Property loss | Type | Severity | Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | $50,000 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
| 2 | $7,500 | Passenger vehicle fire | Significant | Investigated |
| 3 | $700 | Fire, other | Significant | Investigated |
Per-capita rates let us compare apples to apples. Bradford sits above the national average for incidents per resident.
Top 25 wildfires (1992+) in the FPA-FOD ignitions database, scaled by acres. 1,422 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 | 45.7 mi | |
| 2015 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 275 | 47.8 mi | |
| 2015 | Power generation/transmission/distribution | 137 | 23.5 mi | |
| 2012 | Debris and open burning | 120 | 9.2 mi | |
| 2015 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 92 | 49.3 mi | |
| 2017 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 72 | 18.7 mi | |
| 2018 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 60 | 44.7 mi | |
| 2008 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 54 | 21.5 mi | |
| 2016 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 47 | 13.3 mi | |
| 2012 | Debris and open burning | 35 | 42.2 mi | |
| 2014 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 24 | 45.1 mi | |
| 2013 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 20 | 32.4 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 Vermont cities with population within ±25% of Bradford. Useful comparison targets — same state, similar size, different fire profile.
1 departments report to NFIRS for incidents in Bradford.
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.