In 2025, fire departments serving Littleton responded to 56 fire and hazmat incidents — from cooking fires to gas leaks to a single $100K 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 57% of all calls.
Jun peaks. Jan dips. Watch for the typical fall climb starting in October.
387 incidents 2021–2025. Peak year was 2022. $351K cumulative property loss.
| Year | Incidents | YoY | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2021 | 69 | — | |
| 2022 | 138 | +100.0% | |
| 2023 | 63 | -54.3% | |
| 2024 | 61 | -3.2% | |
| 2025 | 56 | -8.2% |
For the 6 building fires Littleton departments responded to in 2025, here's how they were classified once investigators were finished.
NFIRS Area of Origin (AREA_ORIG) for the 88 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 | 15 | 17.0% | |
| 2 | Cooking area, kitchen | 11 | 12.5% | |
| 3 | Engine area, running gear, wheel area | 10 | 11.4% | |
| 4 | Open area - outside; included are farmland, field | 9 | 10.2% | |
| 5 | Wildland, woods | 5 | 5.7% | |
| 6 | Undetermined | 5 | 5.7% | |
| 7 | Vehicle area, other | 4 | 4.5% | |
| 8 | Assembly or sales area, other | 3 | 3.4% | |
| 9 | Other | 2 | 2.3% | |
| 10 | Common room, den, family room, living room, lounge | 2 | 2.3% | |
| 11 | All other areas | 22 | 25.0% |
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 Littleton mix.
| # | Heat source | Count | Share | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Undetermined | 33 | 37.5% | |
| 2 | Heat from powered equipment, other | 9 | 10.2% | |
| 3 | Hot ember or ash | 9 | 10.2% | |
| 4 | Arcing | 8 | 9.1% | |
| 5 | Heat source: other | 6 | 6.8% | |
| 6 | Hot or smoldering object, other | 5 | 5.7% | |
| 7 | Radiated, conducted heat from operating equipment | 4 | 4.5% | |
| 8 | Flame/torch used for lighting | 3 | 3.4% | |
| 9 | Heat from other open flame or smoking materials | 2 | 2.3% | |
| 10 | Cigarette | 2 | 2.3% | |
| 11 | All other sources | 7 | 8.0% |
Largest single-incident property losses reported by Littleton departments in 2025. These 3 fires alone account for 100% of the city's annual total.
| # | Property loss | Type | Severity | Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | $100,000 | Off-road vehicle or heavy equipment fire | Significant | Investigated |
| 2 | $13,000 | Passenger vehicle fire | Significant | Investigated |
| 3 | $200 | Cooking fire, confined to container | Significant | Investigated |
Per-capita rates let us compare apples to apples. Littleton sits above the national average for incidents per resident.
Top 25 wildfires (1992+) in the FPA-FOD ignitions database, scaled by acres. 1,431 acres burned in this 50-mile radius. Each dot is a fire — bigger dots burned more land.
| Year | Cause | Acres | Distance | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2016 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 329 | 36.2 mi | |
| 2015 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 275 | 46.9 mi | |
| 2004 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 139 | 35.3 mi | |
| 2012 | Debris and open burning | 120 | 36.7 mi | |
| 2006 | Railroad operations and maintenance | 100 | 37.1 mi | |
| 2017 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 72 | 20.2 mi | |
| 1995 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 60 | 41.9 mi | |
| 2008 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 54 | 36.6 mi | |
| 2016 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 47 | 40.2 mi | |
| 2016 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 30 | 48.1 mi | |
| 2014 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 24 | 42.2 mi | |
| 2016 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 20 | 40.3 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 Littleton. Useful comparison targets — same state, similar size, different fire profile.
1 departments report to NFIRS for incidents in Littleton.
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.