In 2025, fire departments serving Jaffrey responded to 71 fire and hazmat incidents — from cooking fires to gas leaks to a single $80K building blaze. Here's the full picture.
Building fires lead by count. Building fires lead by dollars. Together the top five categories make up about 62% of all calls.
Feb peaks. Jan dips. Watch for the typical fall climb starting in October.
409 incidents 2021–2025. Peak year was 2022. $869K cumulative property loss.
| Year | Incidents | YoY | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2021 | 74 | — | |
| 2022 | 100 | +35.1% | |
| 2023 | 86 | -14.0% | |
| 2024 | 78 | -9.3% | |
| 2025 | 71 | -9.0% |
For the 15 building fires Jaffrey departments responded to in 2025, here's how they were classified once investigators were finished.
NFIRS Area of Origin (AREA_ORIG) for the 55 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 | 10 | 18.2% | |
| 2 | Engine area, running gear, wheel area | 5 | 9.1% | |
| 3 | Undetermined | 5 | 9.1% | |
| 4 | Other | 4 | 7.3% | |
| 5 | Wildland, woods | 4 | 7.3% | |
| 6 | Cooking area, kitchen | 3 | 5.5% | |
| 7 | Vehicle storage area; garage, carport | 3 | 5.5% | |
| 8 | Open area - outside; included are farmland, field | 3 | 5.5% | |
| 9 | Processing/manufacturing area, workroom | 2 | 3.6% | |
| 10 | Equipment or service area, other | 2 | 3.6% | |
| 11 | All other areas | 14 | 25.5% |
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 Jaffrey mix.
| # | Heat source | Count | Share | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Undetermined | 27 | 49.1% | |
| 2 | Hot ember or ash | 7 | 12.7% | |
| 3 | Arcing | 4 | 7.3% | |
| 4 | Heat from powered equipment, other | 3 | 5.5% | |
| 5 | Hot or smoldering object, other | 3 | 5.5% | |
| 6 | Radiated, conducted heat from operating equipment | 2 | 3.6% | |
| 7 | Candle | 2 | 3.6% | |
| 8 | Heat source: other | 1 | 1.8% | |
| 9 | Spark, ember or flame from operating equipment | 1 | 1.8% | |
| 10 | Explosive, fireworks, other | 1 | 1.8% | |
| 11 | All other sources | 4 | 7.3% |
Largest single-incident property losses reported by Jaffrey departments in 2025. These 4 fires alone account for 100% of the city's annual total.
| # | Property loss | Type | Severity | Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | $80,000 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
| 2 | $50,000 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
| 3 | $8,000 | Passenger vehicle fire | Significant | Investigated |
| 4 | $500 | Passenger vehicle fire | Significant | Investigated |
Per-capita rates let us compare apples to apples. Jaffrey sits above the national average for incidents per resident.
Top 25 wildfires (1992+) in the FPA-FOD ignitions database, scaled by acres. 3,772 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 | 31.3 mi | |
| 2008 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 700 | 31.3 mi | |
| 2002 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 300 | 31.3 mi | |
| 2014 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 256 | 31.4 mi | |
| 2001 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 250 | 44.3 mi | |
| 2015 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 250 | 30.7 mi | |
| 2016 | Arson/incendiarism | 190 | 15.9 mi | |
| 2016 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 172 | 31.3 mi | |
| 2004 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 120 | 17.5 mi | |
| 2015 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 92 | 49.9 mi | |
| 2020 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 79 | 31.2 mi | |
| 2015 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 59 | 35.2 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 Jaffrey. Useful comparison targets — same state, similar size, different fire profile.
1 departments report to NFIRS for incidents in Jaffrey.
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.