In 2025, fire departments serving Charlestown responded to 80 fire and hazmat incidents — from cooking fires to gas leaks to a single $12K 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 58% of all calls.
Apr peaks. May dips. Watch for the typical fall climb starting in October.
409 incidents 2021–2025. Peak year was 2023. $477K cumulative property loss. 2 civilian deaths.
| Year | Incidents | YoY | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2021 | 72 | — | |
| 2022 | 76 | +5.6% | |
| 2023 | 101 | +32.9% | |
| 2024 | 80 | -20.8% | |
| 2025 | 80 | +0.0% |
For the 4 building fires Charlestown departments responded to in 2025, here's how they were classified once investigators were finished.
NFIRS Area of Origin (AREA_ORIG) for the 44 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 | 8 | 18.2% | |
| 2 | Other | 5 | 11.4% | |
| 3 | Undetermined | 5 | 11.4% | |
| 4 | Vehicle area, other | 4 | 9.1% | |
| 5 | Wildland, woods | 4 | 9.1% | |
| 6 | Cooking area, kitchen | 3 | 6.8% | |
| 7 | Engine area, running gear, wheel area | 3 | 6.8% | |
| 8 | Entrance way, lobby | 1 | 2.3% | |
| 9 | Common room, den, family room, living room, lounge | 1 | 2.3% | |
| 10 | Bedroom - < 5 persons; included are jail or prison | 1 | 2.3% | |
| 11 | All other areas | 9 | 20.5% |
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 Charlestown mix.
| # | Heat source | Count | Share | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Heat source: other | 10 | 22.7% | |
| 2 | Undetermined | 9 | 20.5% | |
| 3 | Match | 5 | 11.4% | |
| 4 | Arcing | 4 | 9.1% | |
| 5 | Heat from powered equipment, other | 3 | 6.8% | |
| 6 | Hot or smoldering object, other | 3 | 6.8% | |
| 7 | Hot ember or ash | 3 | 6.8% | |
| 8 | Spark, ember or flame from operating equipment | 2 | 4.5% | |
| 9 | Heat from other open flame or smoking materials | 1 | 2.3% | |
| 10 | Cigarette | 1 | 2.3% | |
| 11 | All other sources | 3 | 6.8% |
Largest single-incident property losses reported by Charlestown departments in 2025. These 4 fires alone account for 100% of the city's annual total.
| # | Property loss | Type | Severity | Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | $12,000 | Passenger vehicle fire | Significant | Investigated |
| 2 | $1,500 | Road freight or transport vehicle fire | Significant | Investigated |
| 3 | $250 | Cooking fire, confined to container | Significant | Investigated |
| 4 | $150 | Passenger vehicle fire | Significant | Investigated |
Per-capita rates let us compare apples to apples. Charlestown sits above the national average for incidents per resident.
Top 25 wildfires (1992+) in the FPA-FOD ignitions database, scaled by acres. 1,646 acres burned in this 50-mile radius. Each dot is a fire — bigger dots burned more land.
| Year | Cause | Acres | Distance | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1992 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 270 | 26.4 mi | |
| 2016 | Arson/incendiarism | 190 | 20.6 mi | |
| 2015 | Power generation/transmission/distribution | 137 | 33.0 mi | |
| 2004 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 120 | 45.5 mi | |
| 2012 | Debris and open burning | 120 | 48.6 mi | |
| 2015 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 92 | 44.7 mi | |
| 2009 | Equipment and vehicle use | 83 | 47.3 mi | |
| 2018 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 60 | 24.6 mi | |
| 2015 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 59 | 39.5 mi | |
| 2008 | Debris and open burning | 55 | 47.4 mi | |
| 2008 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 54 | 47.5 mi | |
| 2015 | Power generation/transmission/distribution | 47 | 31.4 mi |
Top 1 ZIP codes by NFIRS incident count across 2021–2025. Each ZIP has its own fire profile — dive in for neighborhood-level context.
| # | ZIP | 5-yr incidents | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 03603 | 409 |
Six New Hampshire cities with population within ±25% of Charlestown. 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.