In 2025, fire departments serving Hartford responded to 115 fire and hazmat incidents — from cooking fires to gas leaks to a single $671K building blaze. Here's the full picture.
Unauthorized burning lead by count. Building fires lead by dollars. Together the top five categories make up about 54% of all calls.
May peaks. Mar dips. Watch for the typical fall climb starting in October.
506 incidents 2021–2025. Peak year was 2025. $1.1M cumulative property loss.
| Year | Incidents | YoY | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2021 | 112 | — | |
| 2022 | 91 | -18.8% | |
| 2023 | 87 | -4.4% | |
| 2024 | 101 | +16.1% | |
| 2025 | 115 | +13.9% |
For the 19 building fires Hartford departments responded to in 2025, here's how they were classified once investigators were finished.
NFIRS Area of Origin (AREA_ORIG) for the 71 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 | 18 | 25.4% | |
| 2 | Wildland, woods | 8 | 11.3% | |
| 3 | Undetermined | 6 | 8.5% | |
| 4 | Cooking area, kitchen | 5 | 7.0% | |
| 5 | Open area - outside; included are farmland, field | 5 | 7.0% | |
| 6 | Other | 4 | 5.6% | |
| 7 | Storage: supplies or tools; dead storage | 3 | 4.2% | |
| 8 | Exterior balcony, unenclosed porch | 3 | 4.2% | |
| 9 | Operator/passenger area of transportation equip. | 3 | 4.2% | |
| 10 | Fuel tank, fuel line | 3 | 4.2% | |
| 11 | All other areas | 13 | 18.3% |
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 Hartford mix.
| # | Heat source | Count | Share | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Undetermined | 21 | 29.6% | |
| 2 | Heat from powered equipment, other | 11 | 15.5% | |
| 3 | Radiated, conducted heat from operating equipment | 6 | 8.5% | |
| 4 | Hot ember or ash | 6 | 8.5% | |
| 5 | Spark, ember or flame from operating equipment | 5 | 7.0% | |
| 6 | Hot or smoldering object, other | 5 | 7.0% | |
| 7 | Arcing | 3 | 4.2% | |
| 8 | Cigarette | 3 | 4.2% | |
| 9 | Heat, spark from friction | 2 | 2.8% | |
| 10 | Molten, hot material | 2 | 2.8% | |
| 11 | All other sources | 7 | 9.9% |
Largest single-incident property losses reported by Hartford departments in 2025. These 6 fires alone account for 100% of the city's annual total.
| # | Property loss | Type | Severity | Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | $671,200 | Building fires | Major | Investigated |
| 2 | $250,000 | Building fires | Major | Investigated |
| 3 | $30,000 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
| 4 | $1,000 | Dumpster or other outside trash receptacle fire | Significant | Investigated |
| 5 | $500 | Outside storage fire | Significant | Investigated |
| 6 | $500 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
Per-capita rates let us compare apples to apples. Hartford sits above the national average for incidents per resident.
Top 25 wildfires (1992+) in the FPA-FOD ignitions database, scaled by acres. 1,444 acres burned in this 50-mile radius. Each dot is a fire — bigger dots burned more land.
| Year | Cause | Acres | Distance | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1992 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 270 | 34.5 mi | |
| 2016 | Arson/incendiarism | 190 | 44.6 mi | |
| 2015 | Power generation/transmission/distribution | 137 | 4.3 mi | |
| 2012 | Debris and open burning | 120 | 19.9 mi | |
| 2015 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 92 | 44.5 mi | |
| 2017 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 72 | 39.8 mi | |
| 2018 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 60 | 20.0 mi | |
| 2015 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 59 | 49.7 mi | |
| 2008 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 54 | 29.1 mi | |
| 2016 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 47 | 18.8 mi | |
| 2016 | Arson/incendiarism | 46 | 45.3 mi | |
| 2012 | Debris and open burning | 35 | 43.1 mi |
Top 6 ZIP codes by NFIRS incident count across 2021–2025. Each ZIP has its own fire profile — dive in for neighborhood-level context.
Six Vermont cities with population within ±25% of Hartford. 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.