In 2025, fire departments serving Charlestown responded to 63 fire and hazmat incidents . Here's the full picture.
Unauthorized burning lead by count. Building fires lead by dollars. Together the top five categories make up about 62% of all calls.
Apr peaks. Dec dips. Watch for the typical fall climb starting in October.
365 incidents 2021–2025. Peak year was 2022. 1 civilian deaths.
| Year | Incidents | YoY | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2021 | 77 | — | |
| 2022 | 90 | +16.9% | |
| 2023 | 61 | -32.2% | |
| 2024 | 74 | +21.3% | |
| 2025 | 63 | -14.9% |
For the 2 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 97 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 | Highway, parking lot, street: on or near | 16 | 16.5% | |
| 2 | Open area - outside; included are farmland, field | 13 | 13.4% | |
| 3 | Common room, den, family room, living room, lounge | 9 | 9.3% | |
| 4 | Engine area, running gear, wheel area | 9 | 9.3% | |
| 5 | Cooking area, kitchen | 8 | 8.2% | |
| 6 | Wildland, woods | 8 | 8.2% | |
| 7 | Undetermined | 7 | 7.2% | |
| 8 | Outside area, other | 4 | 4.1% | |
| 9 | Courtyard, patio, porch, terrace | 3 | 3.1% | |
| 10 | Vehicle storage area; garage, carport | 2 | 2.1% | |
| 11 | All other areas | 18 | 18.6% |
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 | Undetermined | 44 | 45.4% | |
| 2 | Arcing | 13 | 13.4% | |
| 3 | Spark, ember or flame from operating equipment | 7 | 7.2% | |
| 4 | Heat from other open flame or smoking materials | 7 | 7.2% | |
| 5 | Radiated, conducted heat from operating equipment | 4 | 4.1% | |
| 6 | Hot ember or ash | 4 | 4.1% | |
| 7 | Heat source: other | 3 | 3.1% | |
| 8 | Heat from powered equipment, other | 3 | 3.1% | |
| 9 | Heat spread from another fire, other | 3 | 3.1% | |
| 10 | Radiated heat from another fire | 3 | 3.1% | |
| 11 | All other sources | 6 | 6.2% |
Per-capita rates let us compare apples to apples. Charlestown sits above the national average for incidents per resident.
7 fire-related casualties recorded in NFIRS Module 11 across the 2021–2025 window. Age, gender, and severity are coarse-binned — no individual identification possible.
| Age | Count | |
|---|---|---|
| 0-9 | 1 | |
| 10-19 | 0 | |
| 20-29 | 2 | |
| 30-39 | 0 | |
| 40-49 | 2 | |
| 50-59 | 2 | |
| 60-69 | 0 | |
| 70-79 | 0 | |
| 80+ | 0 |
Top 25 wildfires (1992+) in the FPA-FOD ignitions database, scaled by acres. 1,351 acres burned in this 50-mile radius. Each dot is a fire — bigger dots burned more land.
| Year | Cause | Acres | Distance | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1997 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 361 | 44.8 mi | |
| 2012 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 150 | 42.4 mi | |
| 2020 | Recreation and ceremony | 94 | 34.8 mi | |
| 1992 | Misuse of fire by a minor | 75 | 48.8 mi | |
| 1999 | Arson/incendiarism | 50 | 32.0 mi | |
| 1992 | Recreation and ceremony | 50 | 24.9 mi | |
| 2005 | Arson/incendiarism | 42 | 33.3 mi | |
| 1997 | Debris and open burning | 40 | 19.3 mi | |
| 2008 | Misuse of fire by a minor | 40 | 40.0 mi | |
| 2001 | Debris and open burning | 35 | 23.0 mi | |
| 2000 | Arson/incendiarism | 30 | 29.8 mi | |
| 2001 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 30 | 34.6 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 Rhode Island 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.