In 2025, fire departments serving Litchfield responded to 60 fire and hazmat incidents — from cooking fires to gas leaks to a single $500K building blaze. Here's the full picture.
Gas leak (natural gas or LPG) lead by count. Building fires lead by dollars. Together the top five categories make up about 60% of all calls.
Apr peaks. Jan dips. Watch for the typical fall climb starting in October.
282 incidents 2021–2025. Peak year was 2024. $1.5M cumulative property loss. 1 civilian deaths.
| Year | Incidents | YoY | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2021 | 55 | — | |
| 2022 | 54 | -1.8% | |
| 2023 | 51 | -5.6% | |
| 2024 | 62 | +21.6% | |
| 2025 | 60 | -3.2% |
For the 5 building fires Litchfield departments responded to in 2025, here's how they were classified once investigators were finished.
NFIRS Area of Origin (AREA_ORIG) for the 23 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 | Wildland, woods | 4 | 17.4% | |
| 2 | Undetermined | 4 | 17.4% | |
| 3 | Common room, den, family room, living room, lounge | 2 | 8.7% | |
| 4 | Laundry area, wash house (laundry) | 2 | 8.7% | |
| 5 | Open area - outside; included are farmland, field | 2 | 8.7% | |
| 6 | Bathroom, checkroom, lavatory, locker room | 1 | 4.3% | |
| 7 | Storage: supplies or tools; dead storage | 1 | 4.3% | |
| 8 | Vehicle storage area; garage, carport | 1 | 4.3% | |
| 9 | Vehicle area, other | 1 | 4.3% | |
| 10 | Cargo/trunk area - all vehicles | 1 | 4.3% | |
| 11 | All other areas | 4 | 17.4% |
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 Litchfield mix.
| # | Heat source | Count | Share | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Undetermined | 9 | 39.1% | |
| 2 | Heat from powered equipment, other | 4 | 17.4% | |
| 3 | Arcing | 2 | 8.7% | |
| 4 | Hot ember or ash | 2 | 8.7% | |
| 5 | Lightning | 2 | 8.7% | |
| 6 | Radiated, conducted heat from operating equipment | 1 | 4.3% | |
| 7 | Candle | 1 | 4.3% | |
| 8 | Chemical reaction | 1 | 4.3% | |
| 9 | Radiated heat from another fire | 1 | 4.3% |
Largest single-incident property losses reported by Litchfield departments in 2025. These 5 fires alone account for 100% of the city's annual total.
| # | Property loss | Type | Severity | Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | $500,000 | Building fires | Major | Investigated |
| 2 | $250,000 | Forest, woods or wildland fire | Major | Investigated |
| 3 | $5,000 | Mobile property (vehicle) fire, other | Significant | Investigated |
| 4 | $4,000 | Fires in structures other than in a building | Significant | Investigated |
| 5 | $2,000 | Outside equipment fire | Significant | Investigated |
Per-capita rates let us compare apples to apples. Litchfield sits below the national average for incidents per resident.
Top 25 wildfires (1992+) in the FPA-FOD ignitions database, scaled by acres. 4,058 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 | 25.7 mi | |
| 2008 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 700 | 25.7 mi | |
| 2003 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 300 | 41.2 mi | |
| 2002 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 300 | 25.7 mi | |
| 2014 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 256 | 25.8 mi | |
| 2015 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 250 | 25.5 mi | |
| 2016 | Arson/incendiarism | 190 | 34.8 mi | |
| 2007 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 186 | 26.9 mi | |
| 2016 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 172 | 25.6 mi | |
| 2004 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 120 | 41.8 mi | |
| 2015 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 92 | 42.1 mi | |
| 2014 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 90 | 35.0 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 | 03052 | 282 |
Six New Hampshire cities with population within ±25% of Litchfield. 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.