In 2025, fire departments serving New Boston responded to 109 fire and hazmat incidents — from cooking fires to gas leaks to a single $796K building blaze. Here's the full picture.
Building fires lead by count. Building fires lead by dollars. Together the top five categories make up about 75% of all calls.
Feb peaks. May dips. Watch for the typical fall climb starting in October.
550 incidents 2021–2025. Peak year was 2023. $2.1M cumulative property loss.
| Year | Incidents | YoY | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2021 | 85 | — | |
| 2022 | 109 | +28.2% | |
| 2023 | 153 | +40.4% | |
| 2024 | 94 | -38.6% | |
| 2025 | 109 | +16.0% |
For the 30 building fires New Boston departments responded to in 2025, here's how they were classified once investigators were finished.
NFIRS Area of Origin (AREA_ORIG) for the 37 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 | 6 | 16.2% | |
| 2 | Engine area, running gear, wheel area | 5 | 13.5% | |
| 3 | Outside area, other | 4 | 10.8% | |
| 4 | Cooking area, kitchen | 3 | 8.1% | |
| 5 | Open area - outside; included are farmland, field | 3 | 8.1% | |
| 6 | Vehicle storage area; garage, carport | 2 | 5.4% | |
| 7 | Structural area, other | 2 | 5.4% | |
| 8 | Wall surface: exterior | 2 | 5.4% | |
| 9 | Courtyard, patio, porch, terrace | 2 | 5.4% | |
| 10 | Common room, den, family room, living room, lounge | 1 | 2.7% | |
| 11 | All other areas | 7 | 18.9% |
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 New Boston mix.
| # | Heat source | Count | Share | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Undetermined | 9 | 24.3% | |
| 2 | Arcing | 7 | 18.9% | |
| 3 | Heat from direct flame, convection currents | 4 | 10.8% | |
| 4 | Heat from powered equipment, other | 3 | 8.1% | |
| 5 | Spark, ember or flame from operating equipment | 3 | 8.1% | |
| 6 | Radiated, conducted heat from operating equipment | 3 | 8.1% | |
| 7 | Hot or smoldering object, other | 3 | 8.1% | |
| 8 | Heat source: other | 2 | 5.4% | |
| 9 | Hot ember or ash | 1 | 2.7% | |
| 10 | Heat spread from another fire, other | 1 | 2.7% | |
| 11 | All other sources | 1 | 2.7% |
Largest single-incident property losses reported by New Boston departments in 2025. These 8 fires alone account for 100% of the city's annual total.
| # | Property loss | Type | Severity | Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | $796,148 | Building fires | Major | Investigated |
| 2 | $500,000 | Building fires | Major | Investigated |
| 3 | $387,800 | Building fires | Major | Investigated |
| 4 | $108,700 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
| 5 | $67,600 | Camper or recreational vehicle (RV) fire | Significant | Investigated |
| 6 | $23,000 | Passenger vehicle fire | Significant | Investigated |
| 7 | $10,000 | Passenger vehicle fire | Significant | Investigated |
| 8 | $3,500 | Passenger vehicle fire | Significant | Investigated |
Per-capita rates let us compare apples to apples. New Boston sits above the national average for incidents per resident.
Top 25 wildfires (1992+) in the FPA-FOD ignitions database, scaled by acres. 3,806 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 | 33.3 mi | |
| 2008 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 700 | 33.3 mi | |
| 2002 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 300 | 33.3 mi | |
| 2014 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 256 | 33.4 mi | |
| 2015 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 250 | 32.8 mi | |
| 2016 | Arson/incendiarism | 190 | 20.5 mi | |
| 2007 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 186 | 41.8 mi | |
| 2016 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 172 | 33.2 mi | |
| 2004 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 120 | 37.1 mi | |
| 2015 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 92 | 33.3 mi | |
| 2014 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 90 | 49.9 mi | |
| 2020 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 79 | 33.3 mi |
Top 4 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 New Boston. Useful comparison targets — same state, similar size, different fire profile.
1 departments report to NFIRS for incidents in New Boston.
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.