In 2025, fire departments serving Center Harbor responded to 64 fire and hazmat incidents — from cooking fires to gas leaks to a single $400K 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 77% of all calls.
Jan peaks. May dips. Watch for the typical fall climb starting in October.
259 incidents 2021–2025. Peak year was 2022. $407K cumulative property loss.
| Year | Incidents | YoY | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2021 | 39 | — | |
| 2022 | 69 | +76.9% | |
| 2023 | 37 | -46.4% | |
| 2024 | 50 | +35.1% | |
| 2025 | 64 | +28.0% |
For the 17 building fires Center Harbor departments responded to in 2025, here's how they were classified once investigators were finished.
NFIRS Area of Origin (AREA_ORIG) for the 30 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 | Wildland, woods | 6 | 20.0% | |
| 2 | Outside area, other | 5 | 16.7% | |
| 3 | Other | 4 | 13.3% | |
| 4 | Cooking area, kitchen | 4 | 13.3% | |
| 5 | Engine area, running gear, wheel area | 4 | 13.3% | |
| 6 | Undetermined | 3 | 10.0% | |
| 7 | Bedroom - < 5 persons; included are jail or prison | 1 | 3.3% | |
| 8 | Roof surface: exterior | 1 | 3.3% | |
| 9 | Vehicle area, other | 1 | 3.3% | |
| 10 | Open area - outside; included are farmland, field | 1 | 3.3% |
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 Center Harbor mix.
| # | Heat source | Count | Share | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Undetermined | 10 | 33.3% | |
| 2 | Hot ember or ash | 4 | 13.3% | |
| 3 | Cigarette lighter | 3 | 10.0% | |
| 4 | Heat source: other | 2 | 6.7% | |
| 5 | Radiated, conducted heat from operating equipment | 2 | 6.7% | |
| 6 | Flame/torch used for lighting | 2 | 6.7% | |
| 7 | Heat from powered equipment, other | 1 | 3.3% | |
| 8 | Hot or smoldering object, other | 1 | 3.3% | |
| 9 | Heat from other open flame or smoking materials | 1 | 3.3% | |
| 10 | Heat from undetermined smoking material | 1 | 3.3% | |
| 11 | All other sources | 3 | 10.0% |
Largest single-incident property losses reported by Center Harbor departments in 2025. These 2 fires alone account for 100% of the city's annual total.
| # | Property loss | Type | Severity | Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | $400,000 | Building fires | Major | Investigated |
| 2 | $2,000 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
Per-capita rates let us compare apples to apples. Center Harbor sits above the national average for incidents per resident.
Top 25 wildfires (1992+) in the FPA-FOD ignitions database, scaled by acres. 2,023 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 | 24.9 mi | |
| 2018 | Debris and open burning | 314 | 47.5 mi | |
| 2015 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 275 | 14.2 mi | |
| 2004 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 139 | 29.9 mi | |
| 2015 | Power generation/transmission/distribution | 137 | 44.9 mi | |
| 2012 | Debris and open burning | 120 | 43.7 mi | |
| 2015 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 92 | 17.7 mi | |
| 2017 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 72 | 27.0 mi | |
| 1995 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 60 | 39.0 mi | |
| 2015 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 59 | 33.8 mi | |
| 2008 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 54 | 17.6 mi | |
| 2016 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 50 | 23.6 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 Center Harbor. Useful comparison targets — same state, similar size, different fire profile.
1 departments report to NFIRS for incidents in Center Harbor.
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.