In 2025, fire departments serving Essex responded to 63 fire and hazmat incidents — from cooking fires to gas leaks to a single $150K 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 54% of all calls.
Jul peaks. Oct dips. Watch for the typical fall climb starting in October.
288 incidents 2021–2025. Peak year was 2024. $1.2M cumulative property loss.
| Year | Incidents | YoY | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2021* | 19 | — | |
| 2022 | 54 | — | |
| 2023 | 62 | +14.8% | |
| 2024 | 90 | +45.2% | |
| 2025 | 63 | -30.0% |
* Well below Essex'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 9 building fires Essex departments responded to in 2025, here's how they were classified once investigators were finished.
NFIRS Area of Origin (AREA_ORIG) for the 32 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 | 3 | 9.4% | |
| 2 | Outside area, other | 3 | 9.4% | |
| 3 | Open area - outside; included are farmland, field | 3 | 9.4% | |
| 4 | Other | 2 | 6.2% | |
| 5 | Cooking area, kitchen | 2 | 6.2% | |
| 6 | Vehicle storage area; garage, carport | 2 | 6.2% | |
| 7 | Duct: hvac, cable, exhaust, heating, or AC | 2 | 6.2% | |
| 8 | Exterior balcony, unenclosed porch | 2 | 6.2% | |
| 9 | Cargo/trunk area - all vehicles | 2 | 6.2% | |
| 10 | Entrance way, lobby | 1 | 3.1% | |
| 11 | All other areas | 10 | 31.2% |
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 Essex mix.
| # | Heat source | Count | Share | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Undetermined | 9 | 28.1% | |
| 2 | Arcing | 4 | 12.5% | |
| 3 | Radiated, conducted heat from operating equipment | 3 | 9.4% | |
| 4 | Heat source: other | 2 | 6.2% | |
| 5 | Heat from powered equipment, other | 2 | 6.2% | |
| 6 | Spark, ember or flame from operating equipment | 2 | 6.2% | |
| 7 | Hot ember or ash | 2 | 6.2% | |
| 8 | Candle | 2 | 6.2% | |
| 9 | Heat from other open flame or smoking materials | 1 | 3.1% | |
| 10 | Cigarette | 1 | 3.1% | |
| 11 | All other sources | 4 | 12.5% |
Largest single-incident property losses reported by Essex departments in 2025. These 8 fires alone account for 98% of the city's annual total.
| # | Property loss | Type | Severity | Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | $150,000 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
| 2 | $100,000 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
| 3 | $100,000 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
| 4 | $20,000 | Passenger vehicle fire | Significant | Investigated |
| 5 | $20,000 | Passenger vehicle fire | Significant | Investigated |
| 6 | $15,000 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
| 7 | $10,000 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
| 8 | $10,000 | Passenger vehicle fire | Significant | Investigated |
Per-capita rates let us compare apples to apples. Essex sits below the national average for incidents per resident.
Top 25 wildfires (1992+) in the FPA-FOD ignitions database, scaled by acres. 2,158 acres burned in this 50-mile radius. Each dot is a fire — bigger dots burned more land.
| Year | Cause | Acres | Distance | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2018 | Recreation and ceremony | 547 | 37.3 mi | |
| 2001 | Railroad operations and maintenance | 330 | 39.6 mi | |
| 1994 | Smoking | 106 | 49.9 mi | |
| 1999 | Recreation and ceremony | 92 | 43.7 mi | |
| 2001 | Arson/incendiarism | 82 | 45.2 mi | |
| 2001 | Natural | 80 | 20.6 mi | |
| 2001 | Railroad operations and maintenance | 77 | 39.6 mi | |
| 1994 | Smoking | 75 | 36.2 mi | |
| 2002 | Natural | 65 | 45.4 mi | |
| 2001 | Recreation and ceremony | 60 | 39.6 mi | |
| 2020 | Equipment and vehicle use | 55 | 44.1 mi | |
| 2001 | Natural | 52 | 33.1 mi |
Top 5 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 Essex. 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.