In 2025, fire departments serving Epping responded to 122 fire and hazmat incidents — from cooking fires to gas leaks to a single $79K building blaze. Here's the full picture.
Unauthorized burning lead by count. Building fires lead by dollars. Together the top five categories make up about 52% of all calls.
Sep peaks. May dips. Watch for the typical fall climb starting in October.
545 incidents 2021–2025. Peak year was 2024. $258K cumulative property loss. 1 civilian deaths.
| Year | Incidents | YoY | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2021* | 54 | — | |
| 2022 | 101 | — | |
| 2023 | 113 | +11.9% | |
| 2024 | 155 | +37.2% | |
| 2025 | 122 | -21.3% |
* Well below Epping's usual volume. That almost always means one or more departments didn't submit a full year to NFIRS, not that fires dropped, so no year-over-year change is shown for it.
For the 3 building fires Epping departments responded to in 2025, here's how they were classified once investigators were finished.
NFIRS Area of Origin (AREA_ORIG) for the 93 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 | 19 | 20.4% | |
| 2 | Outside area, other | 13 | 14.0% | |
| 3 | Engine area, running gear, wheel area | 12 | 12.9% | |
| 4 | Courtyard, patio, porch, terrace | 8 | 8.6% | |
| 5 | Highway, parking lot, street: on or near | 7 | 7.5% | |
| 6 | Open area - outside; included are farmland, field | 4 | 4.3% | |
| 7 | Wildland, woods | 4 | 4.3% | |
| 8 | Structural area, other | 3 | 3.2% | |
| 9 | Vehicle area, other | 3 | 3.2% | |
| 10 | Storage area, other | 2 | 2.2% | |
| 11 | All other areas | 18 | 19.4% |
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 Epping mix.
| # | Heat source | Count | Share | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Undetermined | 31 | 33.3% | |
| 2 | Arcing | 15 | 16.1% | |
| 3 | Heat from powered equipment, other | 10 | 10.8% | |
| 4 | Hot or smoldering object, other | 7 | 7.5% | |
| 5 | Cigarette | 7 | 7.5% | |
| 6 | Hot ember or ash | 6 | 6.5% | |
| 7 | Heat source: other | 3 | 3.2% | |
| 8 | Spark, ember or flame from operating equipment | 3 | 3.2% | |
| 9 | Radiated, conducted heat from operating equipment | 2 | 2.2% | |
| 10 | Chemical reaction | 2 | 2.2% | |
| 11 | All other sources | 7 | 7.5% |
Largest single-incident property losses reported by Epping departments in 2025. These 3 fires alone account for 100% of the city's annual total.
| # | Property loss | Type | Severity | Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | $79,400 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
| 2 | $33,000 | Fire in motor home, camper, recreational vehicle | Significant | Investigated |
| 3 | $1,000 | Passenger vehicle fire | Significant | Investigated |
Per-capita rates let us compare apples to apples. Epping sits above the national average for incidents per resident.
Top 25 wildfires (1992+) in the FPA-FOD ignitions database, scaled by acres. 3,798 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 | 47.8 mi | |
| 2008 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 700 | 47.8 mi | |
| 2018 | Debris and open burning | 314 | 31.2 mi | |
| 2002 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 300 | 47.8 mi | |
| 2014 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 256 | 47.9 mi | |
| 2015 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 250 | 47.7 mi | |
| 2007 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 186 | 29.8 mi | |
| 2016 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 172 | 47.7 mi | |
| 2015 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 92 | 36.4 mi | |
| 2014 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 90 | 38.5 mi | |
| 2020 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 79 | 47.9 mi | |
| 2015 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 59 | 29.4 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 New Hampshire cities with population within ±25% of Epping. Useful comparison targets — same state, similar size, different fire profile.
1 departments report to NFIRS for incidents in Epping.
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.