In 2025, fire departments serving Colebrook responded to 10 fire and hazmat incidents — from cooking fires to gas leaks to a single $100K 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 60% of all calls.
Apr peaks. May dips. Watch for the typical fall climb starting in October.
75 incidents 2021–2025. Peak year was 2023. $250K cumulative property loss. 1 civilian deaths.
| Year | Incidents | YoY | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2021 | 17 | — | |
| 2022 | 9 | -47.1% | |
| 2023 | 22 | +144.4% | |
| 2024 | 17 | -22.7% | |
| 2025 | 10 | -41.2% |
For the 2 building fires Colebrook departments responded to in 2025, here's how they were classified once investigators were finished.
NFIRS Area of Origin (AREA_ORIG) for the 20 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 | 10 | 50.0% | |
| 2 | Engine area, running gear, wheel area | 3 | 15.0% | |
| 3 | Entrance way, lobby | 1 | 5.0% | |
| 4 | Common room, den, family room, living room, lounge | 1 | 5.0% | |
| 5 | Cooking area, kitchen | 1 | 5.0% | |
| 6 | Storage: supplies or tools; dead storage | 1 | 5.0% | |
| 7 | Vehicle storage area; garage, carport | 1 | 5.0% | |
| 8 | Vehicle area, other | 1 | 5.0% | |
| 9 | Fuel tank, fuel line | 1 | 5.0% |
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 Colebrook mix.
| # | Heat source | Count | Share | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Undetermined | 14 | 70.0% | |
| 2 | Heat source: other | 2 | 10.0% | |
| 3 | Arcing | 1 | 5.0% | |
| 4 | Fireworks | 1 | 5.0% | |
| 5 | Cigarette | 1 | 5.0% | |
| 6 | Backfire from internal combustion engine | 1 | 5.0% |
Largest single-incident property losses reported by Colebrook departments in 2025. These 1 fires alone account for 100% of the city's annual total.
| # | Property loss | Type | Severity | Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | $100,000 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
Per-capita rates let us compare apples to apples. Colebrook sits below the national average for incidents per resident.
Top 13 wildfires (1992+) in the FPA-FOD ignitions database, scaled by acres. 373 acres burned in this 50-mile radius. Each dot is a fire — bigger dots burned more land.
| Year | Cause | Acres | Distance | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2006 | Railroad operations and maintenance | 100 | 14.1 mi | |
| 1992 | Arson/incendiarism | 64 | 44.6 mi | |
| 2000 | Debris and open burning | 51 | 49.8 mi | |
| 2006 | Debris and open burning | 40 | 47.1 mi | |
| 2006 | Debris and open burning | 27 | 47.2 mi | |
| 1992 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 15 | 43.7 mi | |
| 2003 | Smoking | 13 | 29.5 mi | |
| 1995 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 12 | 32.2 mi | |
| 1993 | Equipment and vehicle use | 11 | 49.9 mi | |
| 2016 | Debris and open burning | 10 | 29.6 mi | |
| 2014 | Smoking | 10 | 35.4 mi | |
| 2020 | Debris and open burning | 10 | 49.3 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 | 03576 | 75 |
Six New Hampshire cities with population within ±25% of Colebrook. Useful comparison targets — same state, similar size, different fire profile.
1 departments report to NFIRS for incidents in Colebrook.
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.