In 2025, fire departments serving Dunbarton responded to 37 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 78% of all calls.
Apr peaks. Feb dips. Watch for the typical fall climb starting in October.
218 incidents 2021–2025. Peak year was 2024. $700K cumulative property loss.
| Year | Incidents | YoY | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2021 | 37 | — | |
| 2022 | 40 | +8.1% | |
| 2023 | 37 | -7.5% | |
| 2024 | 67 | +81.1% | |
| 2025 | 37 | -44.8% |
For the 0 building fires Dunbarton departments responded to in 2025, here's how they were classified once investigators were finished.
NFIRS Area of Origin (AREA_ORIG) for the 17 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 | Open area - outside; included are farmland, field | 3 | 17.6% | |
| 2 | Undetermined | 3 | 17.6% | |
| 3 | Common room, den, family room, living room, lounge | 2 | 11.8% | |
| 4 | Engine area, running gear, wheel area | 2 | 11.8% | |
| 5 | Wildland, woods | 2 | 11.8% | |
| 6 | Vehicle storage area; garage, carport | 1 | 5.9% | |
| 7 | Substructure area or space, crawl space | 1 | 5.9% | |
| 8 | Exterior balcony, unenclosed porch | 1 | 5.9% | |
| 9 | Exterior, exposed surface | 1 | 5.9% | |
| 10 | Outside area, other | 1 | 5.9% |
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 Dunbarton mix.
| # | Heat source | Count | Share | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Heat source: other | 4 | 23.5% | |
| 2 | Radiated, conducted heat from operating equipment | 4 | 23.5% | |
| 3 | Undetermined | 4 | 23.5% | |
| 4 | Heat from powered equipment, other | 1 | 5.9% | |
| 5 | Hot or smoldering object, other | 1 | 5.9% | |
| 6 | Cigarette | 1 | 5.9% | |
| 7 | Match | 1 | 5.9% | |
| 8 | Chemical, natural heat source, other | 1 | 5.9% |
Per-capita rates let us compare apples to apples. Dunbarton sits above the national average for incidents per resident.
Top 25 wildfires (1992+) in the FPA-FOD ignitions database, scaled by acres. 3,700 acres burned in this 50-mile radius. Each dot is a fire — bigger dots burned more land.
| Year | Cause | Acres | Distance | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2005 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 800 | 41.8 mi | |
| 2008 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 700 | 41.8 mi | |
| 2002 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 300 | 41.8 mi | |
| 2014 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 256 | 41.9 mi | |
| 2015 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 250 | 41.4 mi | |
| 2016 | Arson/incendiarism | 190 | 23.9 mi | |
| 2007 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 186 | 44.6 mi | |
| 2016 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 172 | 41.7 mi | |
| 2004 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 120 | 46.2 mi | |
| 2015 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 92 | 24.1 mi | |
| 2020 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 79 | 41.9 mi | |
| 2015 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 59 | 8.1 mi |
Top 4 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 Dunbarton. Useful comparison targets — same state, similar size, different fire profile.
1 departments report to NFIRS for incidents in Dunbarton.
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.