In 2025, fire departments serving Hudson responded to 248 fire and hazmat incidents — from cooking fires to gas leaks to a single $500K 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 57% of all calls.
Apr peaks. May dips. Watch for the typical fall climb starting in October.
1,055 incidents 2021–2025. Peak year was 2025. $2.2M cumulative property loss.
| Year | Incidents | YoY | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2021 | 216 | — | |
| 2022 | 191 | -11.6% | |
| 2023 | 187 | -2.1% | |
| 2024 | 213 | +13.9% | |
| 2025 | 248 | +16.4% |
For the 15 building fires Hudson departments responded to in 2025, here's how they were classified once investigators were finished.
NFIRS Area of Origin (AREA_ORIG) for the 102 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 | 17.6% | |
| 2 | Cooking area, kitchen | 15 | 14.7% | |
| 3 | Other | 14 | 13.7% | |
| 4 | Undetermined | 13 | 12.7% | |
| 5 | Outside area, other | 10 | 9.8% | |
| 6 | Chute/container - trash, rubbish, waste | 4 | 3.9% | |
| 7 | Wall assembly | 3 | 2.9% | |
| 8 | Operator/passenger area of transportation equip. | 3 | 2.9% | |
| 9 | Common room, den, family room, living room, lounge | 2 | 2.0% | |
| 10 | Bedroom - < 5 persons; included are jail or prison | 2 | 2.0% | |
| 11 | All other areas | 18 | 17.6% |
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 Hudson mix.
| # | Heat source | Count | Share | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Undetermined | 32 | 31.4% | |
| 2 | Heat source: other | 19 | 18.6% | |
| 3 | Heat from powered equipment, other | 11 | 10.8% | |
| 4 | Arcing | 10 | 9.8% | |
| 5 | Radiated, conducted heat from operating equipment | 7 | 6.9% | |
| 6 | Spark, ember or flame from operating equipment | 4 | 3.9% | |
| 7 | Hot or smoldering object, other | 3 | 2.9% | |
| 8 | Heat, spark from friction | 3 | 2.9% | |
| 9 | Hot ember or ash | 3 | 2.9% | |
| 10 | Cigarette | 2 | 2.0% | |
| 11 | All other sources | 8 | 7.8% |
Largest single-incident property losses reported by Hudson departments in 2025. These 8 fires alone account for 100% of the city's annual total.
| # | Property loss | Type | Severity | Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | $500,000 | Building fires | Major | Investigated |
| 2 | $498,000 | Fire, other | Major | Investigated |
| 3 | $300,000 | Building fires | Major | Investigated |
| 4 | $125,000 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
| 5 | $80,000 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
| 6 | $10,000 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
| 7 | $5,000 | Road freight or transport vehicle fire | Significant | Investigated |
| 8 | $1,500 | Road freight or transport vehicle fire | Significant | Investigated |
Per-capita rates let us compare apples to apples. Hudson sits above the national average for incidents per resident.
Top 25 wildfires (1992+) in the FPA-FOD ignitions database, scaled by acres. 4,054 acres burned in this 50-mile radius. Each dot is a fire — bigger dots burned more land.
| Year | Cause | Acres | Distance | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2005 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 800 | 21.9 mi | |
| 2008 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 700 | 21.9 mi | |
| 2003 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 300 | 35.2 mi | |
| 2002 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 300 | 21.9 mi | |
| 2014 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 256 | 22.0 mi | |
| 2015 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 250 | 21.8 mi | |
| 2016 | Arson/incendiarism | 190 | 39.5 mi | |
| 2007 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 186 | 22.0 mi | |
| 2016 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 172 | 21.8 mi | |
| 2004 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 120 | 42.3 mi | |
| 2015 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 92 | 47.8 mi | |
| 2014 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 90 | 29.6 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 Hudson. Useful comparison targets — same state, similar size, different fire profile.
1 departments report to NFIRS for incidents in Hudson.
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.