In 2025, fire departments serving Broad Brook responded to 74 fire and hazmat incidents — from cooking fires to gas leaks to a single $30K 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 65% of all calls.
Jul peaks. Feb dips. Watch for the typical fall climb starting in October.
348 incidents 2021–2025. Peak year was 2022. $883K cumulative property loss. 1 civilian deaths.
| Year | Incidents | YoY | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2021 | 64 | — | |
| 2022 | 77 | +20.3% | |
| 2023 | 68 | -11.7% | |
| 2024 | 65 | -4.4% | |
| 2025 | 74 | +13.8% |
For the 6 building fires Broad Brook departments responded to in 2025, here's how they were classified once investigators were finished.
NFIRS Area of Origin (AREA_ORIG) for the 61 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 | 16 | 26.2% | |
| 2 | Cooking area, kitchen | 9 | 14.8% | |
| 3 | Engine area, running gear, wheel area | 7 | 11.5% | |
| 4 | Common room, den, family room, living room, lounge | 3 | 4.9% | |
| 5 | Bedroom - < 5 persons; included are jail or prison | 3 | 4.9% | |
| 6 | Vehicle area, other | 3 | 4.9% | |
| 7 | Open area - outside; included are farmland, field | 3 | 4.9% | |
| 8 | Other | 2 | 3.3% | |
| 9 | Function area, other | 2 | 3.3% | |
| 10 | Wildland, woods | 2 | 3.3% | |
| 11 | All other areas | 11 | 18.0% |
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 Broad Brook mix.
| # | Heat source | Count | Share | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Undetermined | 27 | 44.3% | |
| 2 | Radiated, conducted heat from operating equipment | 5 | 8.2% | |
| 3 | Heat from powered equipment, other | 4 | 6.6% | |
| 4 | Heat source: other | 3 | 4.9% | |
| 5 | Arcing | 3 | 4.9% | |
| 6 | Hot ember or ash | 3 | 4.9% | |
| 7 | Match | 3 | 4.9% | |
| 8 | Heat from direct flame, convection currents | 3 | 4.9% | |
| 9 | Spark, ember or flame from operating equipment | 2 | 3.3% | |
| 10 | Hot or smoldering object, other | 2 | 3.3% | |
| 11 | All other sources | 6 | 9.8% |
Largest single-incident property losses reported by Broad Brook departments in 2025. These 2 fires alone account for 100% of the city's annual total.
| # | Property loss | Type | Severity | Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | $30,000 | Road freight or transport vehicle fire | Significant | Investigated |
| 2 | $5,000 | Passenger vehicle fire | Significant | Investigated |
Per-capita rates let us compare apples to apples. Broad Brook sits above the national average for incidents per resident.
Top 25 wildfires (1992+) in the FPA-FOD ignitions database, scaled by acres. 5,011 acres burned in this 50-mile radius. Each dot is a fire — bigger dots burned more land.
| Year | Cause | Acres | Distance | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2008 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 1,300 | 29.5 mi | |
| 2016 | Natural | 384 | 42.0 mi | |
| 1997 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 361 | 23.2 mi | |
| 2010 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 321 | 23.5 mi | |
| 2001 | Recreation and ceremony | 285 | 49.8 mi | |
| 2001 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 250 | 27.0 mi | |
| 1994 | Misuse of fire by a minor | 180 | 31.8 mi | |
| 1994 | Misuse of fire by a minor | 180 | 31.8 mi | |
| 1999 | Arson/incendiarism | 175 | 39.3 mi | |
| 2008 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 175 | 23.8 mi | |
| 2012 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 150 | 28.3 mi | |
| 2010 | Recreation and ceremony | 137 | 30.1 mi |
Top 2 ZIP codes by NFIRS incident count across 2021–2025. Each ZIP has its own fire profile — dive in for neighborhood-level context.
Six Connecticut cities with population within ±25% of Broad Brook. Useful comparison targets — same state, similar size, different fire profile.
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.