In 2025, fire departments serving Gilmanton responded to 74 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 73% of all calls.
Aug peaks. Mar dips. Watch for the typical fall climb starting in October.
511 incidents 2021–2025. Peak year was 2023. $458K cumulative property loss.
| Year | Incidents | YoY | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2021 | 84 | — | |
| 2022 | 110 | +31.0% | |
| 2023 | 123 | +11.8% | |
| 2024 | 120 | -2.4% | |
| 2025 | 74 | -38.3% |
For the 5 building fires Gilmanton departments responded to in 2025, here's how they were classified once investigators were finished.
NFIRS Area of Origin (AREA_ORIG) for the 114 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 | Outside area, other | 31 | 27.2% | |
| 2 | Wildland, woods | 18 | 15.8% | |
| 3 | Open area - outside; included are farmland, field | 11 | 9.6% | |
| 4 | Undetermined | 11 | 9.6% | |
| 5 | Other | 7 | 6.1% | |
| 6 | Common room, den, family room, living room, lounge | 3 | 2.6% | |
| 7 | Cooking area, kitchen | 3 | 2.6% | |
| 8 | Heating room or area, water heater area | 3 | 2.6% | |
| 9 | Structural area, other | 3 | 2.6% | |
| 10 | Substructure area or space, crawl space | 3 | 2.6% | |
| 11 | All other areas | 21 | 18.4% |
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 Gilmanton mix.
| # | Heat source | Count | Share | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Undetermined | 24 | 21.1% | |
| 2 | Hot ember or ash | 15 | 13.2% | |
| 3 | Heat from other open flame or smoking materials | 10 | 8.8% | |
| 4 | Heat source: other | 9 | 7.9% | |
| 5 | Hot or smoldering object, other | 8 | 7.0% | |
| 6 | Cigarette lighter | 8 | 7.0% | |
| 7 | Heat from powered equipment, other | 4 | 3.5% | |
| 8 | Arcing | 4 | 3.5% | |
| 9 | Heat from direct flame, convection currents | 4 | 3.5% | |
| 10 | Radiated, conducted heat from operating equipment | 3 | 2.6% | |
| 11 | All other sources | 25 | 21.9% |
Per-capita rates let us compare apples to apples. Gilmanton sits above the national average for incidents per resident.
Top 25 wildfires (1992+) in the FPA-FOD ignitions database, scaled by acres. 1,950 acres burned in this 50-mile radius. Each dot is a fire — bigger dots burned more land.
| Year | Cause | Acres | Distance | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2016 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 329 | 40.4 mi | |
| 2018 | Debris and open burning | 314 | 35.1 mi | |
| 2015 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 275 | 25.3 mi | |
| 2016 | Arson/incendiarism | 190 | 44.0 mi | |
| 2004 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 139 | 45.3 mi | |
| 2015 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 92 | 9.4 mi | |
| 2017 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 72 | 47.3 mi | |
| 2015 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 59 | 19.0 mi | |
| 2008 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 54 | 35.1 mi | |
| 2016 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 50 | 16.1 mi | |
| 2016 | Arson/incendiarism | 46 | 44.5 mi | |
| 2016 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 41 | 10.4 mi |
Top 10 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 Gilmanton. 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.