In 2025, fire departments serving Exeter responded to 106 fire and hazmat incidents — from cooking fires to gas leaks to a single $50K building blaze. Here's the full picture.
Gas leak (natural gas or LPG) lead by count. Building fires lead by dollars. Together the top five categories make up about 62% of all calls.
Nov peaks. May dips. Watch for the typical fall climb starting in October.
728 incidents 2021–2025. Peak year was 2021. $2.0M cumulative property loss.
| Year | Incidents | YoY | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2021 | 185 | — | |
| 2022 | 147 | -20.5% | |
| 2023 | 124 | -15.6% | |
| 2024 | 166 | +33.9% | |
| 2025 | 106 | -36.1% |
For the 3 building fires Exeter departments responded to in 2025, here's how they were classified once investigators were finished.
NFIRS Area of Origin (AREA_ORIG) for the 77 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 | 11 | 14.3% | |
| 2 | Outside area, other | 10 | 13.0% | |
| 3 | Other | 8 | 10.4% | |
| 4 | Undetermined | 8 | 10.4% | |
| 5 | Cooking area, kitchen | 7 | 9.1% | |
| 6 | Vehicle area, other | 7 | 9.1% | |
| 7 | Laundry area, wash house (laundry) | 4 | 5.2% | |
| 8 | Vehicle storage area; garage, carport | 3 | 3.9% | |
| 9 | Bedroom - < 5 persons; included are jail or prison | 2 | 2.6% | |
| 10 | Substructure area or space, crawl space | 2 | 2.6% | |
| 11 | All other areas | 15 | 19.5% |
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 Exeter mix.
| # | Heat source | Count | Share | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Undetermined | 26 | 33.8% | |
| 2 | Heat source: other | 12 | 15.6% | |
| 3 | Heat from powered equipment, other | 9 | 11.7% | |
| 4 | Hot or smoldering object, other | 5 | 6.5% | |
| 5 | Arcing | 4 | 5.2% | |
| 6 | Heat, spark from friction | 4 | 5.2% | |
| 7 | Cigarette | 4 | 5.2% | |
| 8 | Radiated, conducted heat from operating equipment | 3 | 3.9% | |
| 9 | Candle | 2 | 2.6% | |
| 10 | Flame/torch used for lighting | 2 | 2.6% | |
| 11 | All other sources | 6 | 7.8% |
Largest single-incident property losses reported by Exeter departments in 2025. These 7 fires alone account for 100% of the city's annual total.
| # | Property loss | Type | Severity | Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | $50,000 | Structure fire, other (conversion only) | Significant | Investigated |
| 2 | $6,000 | Passenger vehicle fire | Significant | Investigated |
| 3 | $5,000 | Brush, or brush and grass mixture fire | Significant | Investigated |
| 4 | $5,000 | Fire, other | Significant | Investigated |
| 5 | $5,000 | Mobile property (vehicle) fire, other | Significant | Investigated |
| 6 | $1,000 | Fire, other | Significant | Investigated |
| 7 | $1,000 | Cooking fire, confined to container | Significant | Investigated |
Per-capita rates let us compare apples to apples. Exeter sits below the national average for incidents per resident.
Top 25 wildfires (1992+) in the FPA-FOD ignitions database, scaled by acres. 3,763 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 | 48.3 mi | |
| 2008 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 700 | 48.3 mi | |
| 2018 | Debris and open burning | 314 | 31.4 mi | |
| 2002 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 300 | 48.3 mi | |
| 2014 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 256 | 48.4 mi | |
| 2015 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 250 | 48.4 mi | |
| 2007 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 186 | 25.7 mi | |
| 2016 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 172 | 48.2 mi | |
| 2015 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 92 | 43.2 mi | |
| 2014 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 90 | 33.8 mi | |
| 2020 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 79 | 48.5 mi | |
| 2015 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 59 | 36.2 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 Exeter. Useful comparison targets — same state, similar size, different fire profile.
1 departments report to NFIRS for incidents in Exeter.
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.