In 2025, fire departments serving Derby responded to 20 fire and hazmat incidents . Here's the full picture.
Building fires lead by count. Building fires lead by dollars. Together the top five categories make up about 70% of all calls.
Jan peaks. Jun dips. Watch for the typical fall climb starting in October.
145 incidents 2021–2025. Peak year was 2022. $817K cumulative property loss.
| Year | Incidents | YoY | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2021 | 26 | — | |
| 2022 | 41 | +57.7% | |
| 2023 | 21 | -48.8% | |
| 2024 | 37 | +76.2% | |
| 2025 | 20 | -45.9% |
For the 4 building fires Derby departments responded to in 2025, here's how they were classified once investigators were finished.
NFIRS Area of Origin (AREA_ORIG) for the 58 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 | Engine area, running gear, wheel area | 8 | 13.8% | |
| 2 | Vehicle storage area; garage, carport | 5 | 8.6% | |
| 3 | Open area - outside; included are farmland, field | 5 | 8.6% | |
| 4 | Cooking area, kitchen | 4 | 6.9% | |
| 5 | Courtyard, patio, porch, terrace | 4 | 6.9% | |
| 6 | Bedroom - < 5 persons; included are jail or prison | 3 | 5.2% | |
| 7 | Wall surface: exterior | 3 | 5.2% | |
| 8 | Highway, parking lot, street: on or near | 3 | 5.2% | |
| 9 | Common room, den, family room, living room, lounge | 2 | 3.4% | |
| 10 | Heating room or area, water heater area | 2 | 3.4% | |
| 11 | All other areas | 19 | 32.8% |
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 Derby mix.
| # | Heat source | Count | Share | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Arcing | 14 | 24.1% | |
| 2 | Heat from direct flame, convection currents | 10 | 17.2% | |
| 3 | Heat from powered equipment, other | 8 | 13.8% | |
| 4 | Cigarette | 5 | 8.6% | |
| 5 | Radiated, conducted heat from operating equipment | 3 | 5.2% | |
| 6 | Hot or smoldering object, other | 3 | 5.2% | |
| 7 | Heat spread from another fire, other | 3 | 5.2% | |
| 8 | Heat, spark from friction | 2 | 3.4% | |
| 9 | Hot ember or ash | 2 | 3.4% | |
| 10 | Flame/torch used for lighting | 2 | 3.4% | |
| 11 | All other sources | 6 | 10.3% |
Per-capita rates let us compare apples to apples. Derby sits below the national average for incidents per resident.
Top 10 wildfires (1992+) in the FPA-FOD ignitions database, scaled by acres. 277 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 | 44.9 mi | |
| 2012 | Recreation and ceremony | 50 | 48.8 mi | |
| 2012 | Debris and open burning | 27 | 47.2 mi | |
| 2013 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 20 | 37.9 mi | |
| 2013 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 15 | 39.7 mi | |
| 2013 | Debris and open burning | 15 | 28.3 mi | |
| 2016 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 15 | 45.5 mi | |
| 1992 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 15 | 45.7 mi | |
| 2016 | Debris and open burning | 10 | 9.7 mi | |
| 2014 | Smoking | 10 | 26.3 mi |
Top 3 ZIP codes by NFIRS incident count across 2021–2025. Each ZIP has its own fire profile — dive in for neighborhood-level context.
Six Vermont cities with population within ±25% of Derby. 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.