In 2025, fire departments serving Meredith responded to 103 fire and hazmat incidents — from cooking fires to gas leaks to a single $50K 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 61% of all calls.
Jun peaks. Oct dips. Watch for the typical fall climb starting in October.
708 incidents 2021–2025. Peak year was 2021. $373K cumulative property loss.
| Year | Incidents | YoY | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2021 | 178 | — | |
| 2022 | 172 | -3.4% | |
| 2023 | 111 | -35.5% | |
| 2024 | 144 | +29.7% | |
| 2025 | 103 | -28.5% |
For the 9 building fires Meredith departments responded to in 2025, here's how they were classified once investigators were finished.
NFIRS Area of Origin (AREA_ORIG) for the 58 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 | Cooking area, kitchen | 9 | 15.5% | |
| 2 | Engine area, running gear, wheel area | 6 | 10.3% | |
| 3 | Highway, parking lot, street: on or near | 5 | 8.6% | |
| 4 | Open area - outside; included are farmland, field | 5 | 8.6% | |
| 5 | Conduit, pipe, utility, or ventilation shaft | 3 | 5.2% | |
| 6 | Outside area, other | 3 | 5.2% | |
| 7 | Courtyard, patio, porch, terrace | 3 | 5.2% | |
| 8 | Wildland, woods | 3 | 5.2% | |
| 9 | Undetermined | 3 | 5.2% | |
| 10 | Common room, den, family room, living room, lounge | 2 | 3.4% | |
| 11 | All other areas | 16 | 27.6% |
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 Meredith mix.
| # | Heat source | Count | Share | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Undetermined | 17 | 29.3% | |
| 2 | Radiated, conducted heat from operating equipment | 10 | 17.2% | |
| 3 | Arcing | 9 | 15.5% | |
| 4 | Spark, ember or flame from operating equipment | 8 | 13.8% | |
| 5 | Hot ember or ash | 3 | 5.2% | |
| 6 | Heat from other open flame or smoking materials | 3 | 5.2% | |
| 7 | Hot or smoldering object, other | 2 | 3.4% | |
| 8 | Heat source: other | 1 | 1.7% | |
| 9 | Cigarette | 1 | 1.7% | |
| 10 | Cigarette lighter | 1 | 1.7% | |
| 11 | All other sources | 3 | 5.2% |
Largest single-incident property losses reported by Meredith departments in 2025. These 8 fires alone account for 100% of the city's annual total.
| # | Property loss | Type | Severity | Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | $50,000 | Road freight or transport vehicle fire | Significant | Investigated |
| 2 | $20,000 | Road freight or transport vehicle fire | Significant | Investigated |
| 3 | $12,000 | Off-road vehicle or heavy equipment fire | Significant | Investigated |
| 4 | $5,000 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
| 5 | $5,000 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
| 6 | $5,000 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
| 7 | $1,000 | Forest, woods or wildland fire | Significant | Investigated |
| 8 | $500 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
Per-capita rates let us compare apples to apples. Meredith sits above the national average for incidents per resident.
Top 25 wildfires (1992+) in the FPA-FOD ignitions database, scaled by acres. 2,230 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 | 29.0 mi | |
| 2018 | Debris and open burning | 314 | 45.0 mi | |
| 2015 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 275 | 16.4 mi | |
| 2016 | Arson/incendiarism | 190 | 48.9 mi | |
| 2004 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 139 | 34.1 mi | |
| 2015 | Power generation/transmission/distribution | 137 | 45.9 mi | |
| 2012 | Debris and open burning | 120 | 46.4 mi | |
| 2015 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 92 | 12.8 mi | |
| 2017 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 72 | 31.6 mi | |
| 1995 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 60 | 42.7 mi | |
| 2015 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 59 | 28.9 mi | |
| 2008 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 54 | 20.5 mi |
Top 7 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 Meredith. 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.