In 2025, fire departments serving Montpelier responded to 108 fire and hazmat incidents — from cooking fires to gas leaks to a single $10K building blaze. Here's the full picture.
Unauthorized burning lead by count. Building fires lead by dollars. Together the top five categories make up about 50% of all calls.
Mar peaks. Jan dips. Watch for the typical fall climb starting in October.
475 incidents 2021–2025. Peak year was 2023. $1.3M cumulative property loss.
| Year | Incidents | YoY | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2021 | 68 | — | |
| 2022 | 79 | +16.2% | |
| 2023 | 120 | +51.9% | |
| 2024 | 100 | -16.7% | |
| 2025 | 108 | +8.0% |
For the 4 building fires Montpelier departments responded to in 2025, here's how they were classified once investigators were finished.
NFIRS Area of Origin (AREA_ORIG) for the 35 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 | 6 | 17.1% | |
| 2 | Other | 4 | 11.4% | |
| 3 | Engine area, running gear, wheel area | 4 | 11.4% | |
| 4 | Outside area, other | 4 | 11.4% | |
| 5 | Highway, parking lot, street: on or near | 3 | 8.6% | |
| 6 | Bathroom, checkroom, lavatory, locker room | 2 | 5.7% | |
| 7 | Storage area, other | 2 | 5.7% | |
| 8 | Exterior balcony, unenclosed porch | 2 | 5.7% | |
| 9 | Open area - outside; included are farmland, field | 2 | 5.7% | |
| 10 | Function area, other | 1 | 2.9% | |
| 11 | All other areas | 5 | 14.3% |
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 Montpelier mix.
| # | Heat source | Count | Share | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Undetermined | 15 | 42.9% | |
| 2 | Heat from direct flame, convection currents | 4 | 11.4% | |
| 3 | Heat from powered equipment, other | 3 | 8.6% | |
| 4 | Radiated, conducted heat from operating equipment | 3 | 8.6% | |
| 5 | Arcing | 3 | 8.6% | |
| 6 | Hot or smoldering object, other | 2 | 5.7% | |
| 7 | Heat source: other | 1 | 2.9% | |
| 8 | Spark, ember or flame from operating equipment | 1 | 2.9% | |
| 9 | Heat, spark from friction | 1 | 2.9% | |
| 10 | Cigarette | 1 | 2.9% | |
| 11 | All other sources | 1 | 2.9% |
Largest single-incident property losses reported by Montpelier departments in 2025. These 7 fires alone account for 100% of the city's annual total.
| # | Property loss | Type | Severity | Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | $10,000 | Passenger vehicle fire | Significant | Investigated |
| 2 | $5,000 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
| 3 | $2,500 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
| 4 | $200 | Fire, other | Significant | Investigated |
| 5 | $125 | Outside rubbish, trash or waste fire | Significant | Investigated |
| 6 | $100 | Outside equipment fire | Significant | Investigated |
| 7 | $100 | Dumpster or other outside trash receptacle fire | Significant | Investigated |
Per-capita rates let us compare apples to apples. Montpelier sits above the national average for incidents per resident.
Top 25 wildfires (1992+) in the FPA-FOD ignitions database, scaled by acres. 904 acres burned in this 50-mile radius. Each dot is a fire — bigger dots burned more land.
| Year | Cause | Acres | Distance | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2015 | Power generation/transmission/distribution | 137 | 38.3 mi | |
| 2012 | Debris and open burning | 120 | 25.2 mi | |
| 2001 | Natural | 80 | 46.5 mi | |
| 2017 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 72 | 42.1 mi | |
| 2008 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 54 | 48.6 mi | |
| 2012 | Recreation and ceremony | 50 | 32.2 mi | |
| 2016 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 47 | 24.2 mi | |
| 1994 | Debris and open burning | 40 | 41.4 mi | |
| 2020 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 40 | 29.4 mi | |
| 2012 | Debris and open burning | 35 | 23.8 mi | |
| 2012 | Debris and open burning | 27 | 35.1 mi | |
| 2013 | Debris and open burning | 22 | 46.0 mi |
Top 10 ZIP codes by NFIRS incident count across 2021–2025. Each ZIP has its own fire profile — dive in for neighborhood-level context.
Six Vermont cities with population within ±25% of Montpelier. 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.