In 2025, fire departments serving Hinesburg responded to 18 fire and hazmat incidents . Here's the full picture.
Building fires lead by count. Building fires lead by dollars. Together the top five categories make up about 83% of all calls.
Apr peaks. May dips. Watch for the typical fall climb starting in October.
146 incidents 2021–2025. Peak year was 2022. $85K cumulative property loss.
| Year | Incidents | YoY | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2021 | 21 | — | |
| 2022 | 53 | +152.4% | |
| 2023 | 28 | -47.2% | |
| 2024 | 26 | -7.1% | |
| 2025 | 18 | -30.8% |
For the 7 building fires Hinesburg departments responded to in 2025, here's how they were classified once investigators were finished.
NFIRS Area of Origin (AREA_ORIG) for the 27 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 | 7 | 25.9% | |
| 2 | Cooking area, kitchen | 6 | 22.2% | |
| 3 | Common room, den, family room, living room, lounge | 4 | 14.8% | |
| 4 | Other | 2 | 7.4% | |
| 5 | Wildland, woods | 2 | 7.4% | |
| 6 | Bedroom - < 5 persons; included are jail or prison | 1 | 3.7% | |
| 7 | Dining room, cafeteria bar area, beverage service | 1 | 3.7% | |
| 8 | Duct: hvac, cable, exhaust, heating, or AC | 1 | 3.7% | |
| 9 | Heating room or area, water heater area | 1 | 3.7% | |
| 10 | Highway, parking lot, street: on or near | 1 | 3.7% | |
| 11 | All other areas | 1 | 3.7% |
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 Hinesburg mix.
| # | Heat source | Count | Share | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Undetermined | 8 | 29.6% | |
| 2 | Heat source: other | 4 | 14.8% | |
| 3 | Radiated, conducted heat from operating equipment | 3 | 11.1% | |
| 4 | Hot ember or ash | 3 | 11.1% | |
| 5 | Heat from direct flame, convection currents | 3 | 11.1% | |
| 6 | Arcing | 2 | 7.4% | |
| 7 | Heat from other open flame or smoking materials | 2 | 7.4% | |
| 8 | Heat from powered equipment, other | 1 | 3.7% | |
| 9 | Spark, ember or flame from operating equipment | 1 | 3.7% |
Per-capita rates let us compare apples to apples. Hinesburg sits below the national average for incidents per resident.
Top 25 wildfires (1992+) in the FPA-FOD ignitions database, scaled by acres. 2,446 acres burned in this 50-mile radius. Each dot is a fire — bigger dots burned more land.
| Year | Cause | Acres | Distance | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2018 | Recreation and ceremony | 547 | 46.6 mi | |
| 2001 | Railroad operations and maintenance | 330 | 37.4 mi | |
| 2015 | Recreation and ceremony | 121 | 42.4 mi | |
| 2012 | Debris and open burning | 120 | 46.2 mi | |
| 1994 | Recreation and ceremony | 117 | 46.9 mi | |
| 1994 | Smoking | 106 | 45.2 mi | |
| 1999 | Recreation and ceremony | 92 | 37.1 mi | |
| 2001 | Arson/incendiarism | 82 | 33.5 mi | |
| 2001 | Natural | 80 | 21.1 mi | |
| 2001 | Railroad operations and maintenance | 77 | 37.4 mi | |
| 1994 | Smoking | 75 | 28.0 mi | |
| 2002 | Natural | 65 | 34.5 mi |
Top 3 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 Hinesburg. 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.