In 2025, fire departments serving Gorham responded to 58 fire and hazmat incidents — from cooking fires to gas leaks to a single $150K building blaze. Here's the full picture.
Carbon monoxide incident lead by count. Building fires lead by dollars. Together the top five categories make up about 60% of all calls.
Sep peaks. May dips. Watch for the typical fall climb starting in October.
236 incidents 2021–2025. Peak year was 2025. $259K cumulative property loss.
| Year | Incidents | YoY | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2021 | 31 | — | |
| 2022 | 56 | +80.6% | |
| 2023 | 49 | -12.5% | |
| 2024 | 42 | -14.3% | |
| 2025 | 58 | +38.1% |
For the 6 building fires Gorham departments responded to in 2025, here's how they were classified once investigators were finished.
NFIRS Area of Origin (AREA_ORIG) for the 56 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 | 13 | 23.2% | |
| 2 | Cooking area, kitchen | 6 | 10.7% | |
| 3 | Engine area, running gear, wheel area | 6 | 10.7% | |
| 4 | Heating room or area, water heater area | 3 | 5.4% | |
| 5 | Substructure area or space, crawl space | 3 | 5.4% | |
| 6 | Duct: hvac, cable, exhaust, heating, or AC | 2 | 3.6% | |
| 7 | Vehicle area, other | 2 | 3.6% | |
| 8 | Highway, parking lot, street: on or near | 2 | 3.6% | |
| 9 | Courtyard, patio, porch, terrace | 2 | 3.6% | |
| 10 | Open area - outside; included are farmland, field | 2 | 3.6% | |
| 11 | All other areas | 15 | 26.8% |
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 Gorham mix.
| # | Heat source | Count | Share | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Spark, ember or flame from operating equipment | 8 | 14.3% | |
| 2 | Undetermined | 8 | 14.3% | |
| 3 | Heat from powered equipment, other | 6 | 10.7% | |
| 4 | Radiated, conducted heat from operating equipment | 6 | 10.7% | |
| 5 | Arcing | 5 | 8.9% | |
| 6 | Heat, spark from friction | 5 | 8.9% | |
| 7 | Hot ember or ash | 4 | 7.1% | |
| 8 | Hot or smoldering object, other | 3 | 5.4% | |
| 9 | Match | 3 | 5.4% | |
| 10 | Heat source: other | 2 | 3.6% | |
| 11 | All other sources | 6 | 10.7% |
Largest single-incident property losses reported by Gorham departments in 2025. These 2 fires alone account for 100% of the city's annual total.
| # | Property loss | Type | Severity | Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | $150,000 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
| 2 | $70,000 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
Per-capita rates let us compare apples to apples. Gorham sits above the national average for incidents per resident.
Top 25 wildfires (1992+) in the FPA-FOD ignitions database, scaled by acres. 1,419 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 | 27.0 mi | |
| 2015 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 275 | 42.3 mi | |
| 2004 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 139 | 22.3 mi | |
| 2006 | Railroad operations and maintenance | 100 | 22.6 mi | |
| 2017 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 72 | 37.7 mi | |
| 1992 | Arson/incendiarism | 64 | 27.0 mi | |
| 1995 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 60 | 20.4 mi | |
| 2000 | Debris and open burning | 51 | 19.9 mi | |
| 2006 | Debris and open burning | 40 | 19.4 mi | |
| 2011 | Arson/incendiarism | 33 | 44.5 mi | |
| 2016 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 30 | 40.1 mi | |
| 2006 | Debris and open burning | 27 | 19.7 mi |
Top 2 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 Gorham. Useful comparison targets — same state, similar size, different fire profile.
1 departments report to NFIRS for incidents in Gorham.
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.