In 2025, fire departments serving Halifax responded to 105 fire and hazmat incidents — from cooking fires to gas leaks to a single $50K building blaze. Here's the full picture.
Power line down lead by count. Building fires lead by dollars. Together the top five categories make up about 65% of all calls.
Aug peaks. Feb dips. Watch for the typical fall climb starting in October.
596 incidents 2021–2025. Peak year was 2023. $305K cumulative property loss. 1 civilian deaths.
| Year | Incidents | YoY | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2021 | 137 | — | |
| 2022 | 87 | -36.5% | |
| 2023 | 138 | +58.6% | |
| 2024 | 129 | -6.5% | |
| 2025 | 105 | -18.6% |
For the 8 building fires Halifax departments responded to in 2025, here's how they were classified once investigators were finished.
NFIRS Area of Origin (AREA_ORIG) for the 64 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 | 11 | 17.2% | |
| 2 | Other | 6 | 9.4% | |
| 3 | Undetermined | 6 | 9.4% | |
| 4 | Cooking area, kitchen | 5 | 7.8% | |
| 5 | Engine area, running gear, wheel area | 5 | 7.8% | |
| 6 | Open area - outside; included are farmland, field | 5 | 7.8% | |
| 7 | Wall surface: exterior | 3 | 4.7% | |
| 8 | Highway, parking lot, street: on or near | 3 | 4.7% | |
| 9 | Wildland, woods | 3 | 4.7% | |
| 10 | Vehicle storage area; garage, carport | 2 | 3.1% | |
| 11 | All other areas | 15 | 23.4% |
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 Halifax mix.
| # | Heat source | Count | Share | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Undetermined | 18 | 28.1% | |
| 2 | Hot or smoldering object, other | 9 | 14.1% | |
| 3 | Hot ember or ash | 7 | 10.9% | |
| 4 | Heat from powered equipment, other | 5 | 7.8% | |
| 5 | Arcing | 4 | 6.2% | |
| 6 | Cigarette | 4 | 6.2% | |
| 7 | Heat from other open flame or smoking materials | 3 | 4.7% | |
| 8 | Flying brand, ember, spark | 3 | 4.7% | |
| 9 | Cigarette lighter | 2 | 3.1% | |
| 10 | Flame/torch used for lighting | 2 | 3.1% | |
| 11 | All other sources | 7 | 10.9% |
Largest single-incident property losses reported by Halifax departments in 2025. These 2 fires alone account for 100% of the city's annual total.
| # | Property loss | Type | Severity | Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | $50,000 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
| 2 | $7,000 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
Per-capita rates let us compare apples to apples. Halifax sits above the national average for incidents per resident.
Top 25 wildfires (1992+) in the FPA-FOD ignitions database, scaled by acres. 1,281 acres burned in this 50-mile radius. Each dot is a fire — bigger dots burned more land.
| Year | Cause | Acres | Distance | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2003 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 300 | 25.8 mi | |
| 2007 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 186 | 44.2 mi | |
| 2016 | Natural | 120 | 25.3 mi | |
| 2014 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 90 | 35.5 mi | |
| 2016 | Debris and open burning | 55 | 8.3 mi | |
| 2019 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 54 | 42.4 mi | |
| 2015 | Smoking | 50 | 35.5 mi | |
| 2020 | Debris and open burning | 50 | 39.6 mi | |
| 2016 | Recreation and ceremony | 32 | 35.7 mi | |
| 2019 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 30 | 25.9 mi | |
| 2017 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 29 | 35.1 mi | |
| 2016 | Recreation and ceremony | 27 | 35.1 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 | 02338 | 596 |
Six Massachusetts cities with population within ±25% of Halifax. 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.