In 2025, fire departments serving Middletown responded to 303 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 44% of all calls.
Feb peaks. Sep dips. Watch for the typical fall climb starting in October.
1,947 incidents 2021–2025. Peak year was 2022. $5.5M cumulative property loss. 1 civilian deaths.
| Year | Incidents | YoY | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2021 | 413 | — | |
| 2022 | 441 | +6.8% | |
| 2023 | 430 | -2.5% | |
| 2024 | 360 | -16.3% | |
| 2025 | 303 | -15.8% |
For the 28 building fires Middletown departments responded to in 2025, here's how they were classified once investigators were finished.
NFIRS Area of Origin (AREA_ORIG) for the 343 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 | Undetermined | 59 | 17.2% | |
| 2 | Engine area, running gear, wheel area | 51 | 14.9% | |
| 3 | Outside area, other | 43 | 12.5% | |
| 4 | Open area - outside; included are farmland, field | 30 | 8.7% | |
| 5 | Cooking area, kitchen | 18 | 5.2% | |
| 6 | Other | 14 | 4.1% | |
| 7 | Vehicle area, other | 10 | 2.9% | |
| 8 | Function area, other | 7 | 2.0% | |
| 9 | Bedroom - < 5 persons; included are jail or prison | 7 | 2.0% | |
| 10 | Vehicle storage area; garage, carport | 7 | 2.0% | |
| 11 | All other areas | 97 | 28.3% |
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 Middletown mix.
| # | Heat source | Count | Share | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Undetermined | 162 | 47.2% | |
| 2 | Heat from powered equipment, other | 25 | 7.3% | |
| 3 | Hot ember or ash | 24 | 7.0% | |
| 4 | Hot or smoldering object, other | 23 | 6.7% | |
| 5 | Arcing | 20 | 5.8% | |
| 6 | Heat source: other | 17 | 5.0% | |
| 7 | Radiated, conducted heat from operating equipment | 15 | 4.4% | |
| 8 | Match | 13 | 3.8% | |
| 9 | Cigarette | 10 | 2.9% | |
| 10 | Cigarette lighter | 6 | 1.7% | |
| 11 | All other sources | 28 | 8.2% |
Largest single-incident property losses reported by Middletown departments in 2025. These 8 fires alone account for 96% of the city's annual total.
| # | Property loss | Type | Severity | Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | $500,000 | Building fires | Major | Investigated |
| 2 | $75,000 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
| 3 | $30,000 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
| 4 | $15,000 | Passenger vehicle fire | Significant | Investigated |
| 5 | $10,000 | Passenger vehicle fire | Significant | Investigated |
| 6 | $8,000 | Passenger vehicle fire | Significant | Investigated |
| 7 | $8,000 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
| 8 | $6,000 | Fire, other | Significant | Investigated |
Per-capita rates let us compare apples to apples. Middletown sits below the national average for incidents per resident.
Top 25 wildfires (1992+) in the FPA-FOD ignitions database, scaled by acres. 11,471 acres burned in this 50-mile radius. Each dot is a fire — bigger dots burned more land.
| Year | Cause | Acres | Distance | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1995 | Arson/incendiarism | 5,050 | 41.8 mi | |
| 2008 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 1,300 | 27.2 mi | |
| 2012 | Arson/incendiarism | 992 | 47.0 mi | |
| 2001 | Smoking | 550 | 48.4 mi | |
| 2016 | Natural | 384 | 38.9 mi | |
| 1997 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 361 | 8.1 mi | |
| 2010 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 321 | 44.6 mi | |
| 2001 | Recreation and ceremony | 285 | 44.2 mi | |
| 1994 | Misuse of fire by a minor | 180 | 23.3 mi | |
| 1994 | Misuse of fire by a minor | 180 | 23.3 mi | |
| 1999 | Arson/incendiarism | 175 | 20.9 mi | |
| 2008 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 175 | 22.1 mi |
Top 3 ZIP codes by NFIRS incident count across 2021–2025. Each ZIP has its own fire profile — dive in for neighborhood-level context.
Six Connecticut cities with population within ±25% of Middletown. Useful comparison targets — same state, similar size, different fire profile.
1 departments report to NFIRS for incidents in Middletown.
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.