In 2025, fire departments serving Francestown responded to 22 fire and hazmat incidents . Here's the full picture.
Power line down lead by count. Building fires lead by dollars. Together the top five categories make up about 91% of all calls.
Jan peaks. Apr dips. Watch for the typical fall climb starting in October.
112 incidents 2021–2025. Peak year was 2024. $219K cumulative property loss.
| Year | Incidents | YoY | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2021 | 17 | — | |
| 2022 | 21 | +23.5% | |
| 2023 | 23 | +9.5% | |
| 2024 | 29 | +26.1% | |
| 2025 | 22 | -24.1% |
For the 2 building fires Francestown departments responded to in 2025, here's how they were classified once investigators were finished.
NFIRS Area of Origin (AREA_ORIG) for the 6 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 | Storage area, other | 1 | 16.7% | |
| 2 | Substructure area or space, crawl space | 1 | 16.7% | |
| 3 | Wall surface: exterior | 1 | 16.7% | |
| 4 | Engine area, running gear, wheel area | 1 | 16.7% | |
| 5 | Wildland, woods | 1 | 16.7% | |
| 6 | Undetermined | 1 | 16.7% |
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 Francestown mix.
| # | Heat source | Count | Share | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Arcing | 2 | 33.3% | |
| 2 | Undetermined | 2 | 33.3% | |
| 3 | Hot or smoldering object, other | 1 | 16.7% | |
| 4 | Radiated heat from another fire | 1 | 16.7% |
Per-capita rates let us compare apples to apples. Francestown sits above the national average for incidents per resident.
Top 25 wildfires (1992+) in the FPA-FOD ignitions database, scaled by acres. 3,669 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 | 35.6 mi | |
| 2008 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 700 | 35.6 mi | |
| 2002 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 300 | 35.6 mi | |
| 2014 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 256 | 35.7 mi | |
| 2015 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 250 | 35.0 mi | |
| 2016 | Arson/incendiarism | 190 | 13.9 mi | |
| 2007 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 186 | 47.9 mi | |
| 2016 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 172 | 35.5 mi | |
| 2004 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 120 | 33.8 mi | |
| 2015 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 92 | 34.0 mi | |
| 2020 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 79 | 35.6 mi | |
| 2015 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 59 | 18.6 mi |
Top 1 ZIP codes by NFIRS incident count across 2021–2025. Each ZIP has its own fire profile — dive in for neighborhood-level context.
| # | ZIP | 5-yr incidents | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 03043 | 112 |
Six New Hampshire cities with population within ±25% of Francestown. Useful comparison targets — same state, similar size, different fire profile.
1 departments report to NFIRS for incidents in Francestown.
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.