In 2025, fire departments serving Cornish responded to 37 fire and hazmat incidents . Here's the full picture.
Power line down lead by count. Building fires lead by dollars. Together the top five categories make up about 78% of all calls.
Jul peaks. Aug dips. Watch for the typical fall climb starting in October.
163 incidents 2021–2025. Peak year was 2025. $1 cumulative property loss.
| Year | Incidents | YoY | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2021 | 34 | — | |
| 2022 | 35 | +2.9% | |
| 2023 | 29 | -17.1% | |
| 2024 | 28 | -3.4% | |
| 2025 | 37 | +32.1% |
For the 4 building fires Cornish 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 | Outside area, other | 6 | 30.0% | |
| 2 | Undetermined | 6 | 30.0% | |
| 3 | Other | 3 | 15.0% | |
| 4 | Engine area, running gear, wheel area | 2 | 10.0% | |
| 5 | Wildland, woods | 2 | 10.0% | |
| 6 | Heating room or area, water heater area | 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 Cornish mix.
| # | Heat source | Count | Share | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Undetermined | 8 | 40.0% | |
| 2 | Arcing | 3 | 15.0% | |
| 3 | Hot ember or ash | 3 | 15.0% | |
| 4 | Hot or smoldering object, other | 2 | 10.0% | |
| 5 | Heat source: other | 1 | 5.0% | |
| 6 | Match | 1 | 5.0% | |
| 7 | Candle | 1 | 5.0% | |
| 8 | Heat from direct flame, convection currents | 1 | 5.0% |
Per-capita rates let us compare apples to apples. Cornish sits above the national average for incidents per resident.
Top 25 wildfires (1992+) in the FPA-FOD ignitions database, scaled by acres. 1,486 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 | 30.9 mi | |
| 2016 | Arson/incendiarism | 190 | 31.2 mi | |
| 2015 | Power generation/transmission/distribution | 137 | 17.9 mi | |
| 2012 | Debris and open burning | 120 | 32.8 mi | |
| 2015 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 92 | 38.7 mi | |
| 2017 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 72 | 47.4 mi | |
| 2018 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 60 | 20.4 mi | |
| 2015 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 59 | 39.8 mi | |
| 2008 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 54 | 33.2 mi | |
| 2015 | Power generation/transmission/distribution | 47 | 47.3 mi | |
| 2016 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 47 | 32.2 mi | |
| 2016 | Arson/incendiarism | 46 | 31.9 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 New Hampshire cities with population within ±25% of Cornish. 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.