In 2025, fire departments serving Brentwood responded to 38 fire and hazmat incidents — from cooking fires to gas leaks to a single $200K 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 61% of all calls.
Aug peaks. Jun dips. Watch for the typical fall climb starting in October.
276 incidents 2021–2025. Peak year was 2024. $267K cumulative property loss.
| Year | Incidents | YoY | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2021 | 49 | — | |
| 2022 | 44 | -10.2% | |
| 2023 | 67 | +52.3% | |
| 2024 | 78 | +16.4% | |
| 2025 | 38 | -51.3% |
For the 8 building fires Brentwood departments responded to in 2025, here's how they were classified once investigators were finished.
NFIRS Area of Origin (AREA_ORIG) for the 27 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 | Undetermined | 5 | 18.5% | |
| 2 | Cooking area, kitchen | 3 | 11.1% | |
| 3 | Engine area, running gear, wheel area | 2 | 7.4% | |
| 4 | Outside area, other | 2 | 7.4% | |
| 5 | Highway, parking lot, street: on or near | 2 | 7.4% | |
| 6 | Courtyard, patio, porch, terrace | 2 | 7.4% | |
| 7 | Other | 1 | 3.7% | |
| 8 | Common room, den, family room, living room, lounge | 1 | 3.7% | |
| 9 | Bedroom - < 5 persons; included are jail or prison | 1 | 3.7% | |
| 10 | Office | 1 | 3.7% | |
| 11 | All other areas | 7 | 25.9% |
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 Brentwood mix.
| # | Heat source | Count | Share | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Undetermined | 9 | 33.3% | |
| 2 | Arcing | 3 | 11.1% | |
| 3 | Molten, hot material | 3 | 11.1% | |
| 4 | Hot ember or ash | 3 | 11.1% | |
| 5 | Heat source: other | 2 | 7.4% | |
| 6 | Spark, ember or flame from operating equipment | 2 | 7.4% | |
| 7 | Radiated, conducted heat from operating equipment | 2 | 7.4% | |
| 8 | Chemical reaction | 2 | 7.4% | |
| 9 | Hot or smoldering object, other | 1 | 3.7% |
Largest single-incident property losses reported by Brentwood departments in 2025. These 3 fires alone account for 100% of the city's annual total.
| # | Property loss | Type | Severity | Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | $200,000 | Structure fire, other (conversion only) | Significant | Investigated |
| 2 | $12,000 | Passenger vehicle fire | Significant | Investigated |
| 3 | $500 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
Per-capita rates let us compare apples to apples. Brentwood sits above the national average for incidents per resident.
Top 25 wildfires (1992+) in the FPA-FOD ignitions database, scaled by acres. 4,088 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 | 45.5 mi | |
| 2008 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 700 | 45.5 mi | |
| 2018 | Debris and open burning | 314 | 33.6 mi | |
| 2003 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 300 | 49.3 mi | |
| 2002 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 300 | 45.5 mi | |
| 2014 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 256 | 45.6 mi | |
| 2015 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 250 | 45.5 mi | |
| 2007 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 186 | 25.5 mi | |
| 2016 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 172 | 45.4 mi | |
| 2015 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 92 | 40.7 mi | |
| 2014 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 90 | 34.1 mi | |
| 2020 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 79 | 45.6 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 Brentwood. Useful comparison targets — same state, similar size, different fire profile.
1 departments report to NFIRS for incidents in Brentwood.
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.