In 2025, fire departments serving New Hanover responded to 22 fire and hazmat incidents . Here's the full picture.
Incomplete 2025 data. New Hanover's departments reported 22 incidents to NFIRS for 2025, against about 47 in a typical year, so 2025 figures on this page undercount. The 2021–2025 totals are the better guide.
Gas leak (natural gas or LPG) lead by count. Building fires lead by dollars. Together the top five categories make up about 64% of all calls.
Sep peaks. Apr dips. Watch for the typical fall climb starting in October.
234 incidents 2021–2025. Peak year was 2023. $588K cumulative property loss.
| Year | Incidents | YoY | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2021 | 51 | — | |
| 2022 | 64 | +25.5% | |
| 2023 | 67 | +4.7% | |
| 2024 | 30 | -55.2% | |
| 2025* | 22 | — |
* Well below New Hanover's usual volume. That almost always means one or more departments didn't submit a full year to NFIRS, not that fires dropped, so no year-over-year change is shown for it.
For the 0 building fires New Hanover departments responded to in 2025, here's how they were classified once investigators were finished.
NFIRS Area of Origin (AREA_ORIG) for the 68 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 | Open area - outside; included are farmland, field | 13 | 19.1% | |
| 2 | Engine area, running gear, wheel area | 7 | 10.3% | |
| 3 | Wildland, woods | 6 | 8.8% | |
| 4 | Cooking area, kitchen | 5 | 7.4% | |
| 5 | Exterior balcony, unenclosed porch | 5 | 7.4% | |
| 6 | Wall surface: exterior | 5 | 7.4% | |
| 7 | Function area, other | 3 | 4.4% | |
| 8 | Storage area, other | 3 | 4.4% | |
| 9 | Fuel tank, fuel line | 3 | 4.4% | |
| 10 | Outside area, other | 3 | 4.4% | |
| 11 | All other areas | 15 | 22.1% |
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 Hanover mix.
| # | Heat source | Count | Share | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Radiated, conducted heat from operating equipment | 13 | 19.1% | |
| 2 | Hot ember or ash | 10 | 14.7% | |
| 3 | Arcing | 8 | 11.8% | |
| 4 | Match | 8 | 11.8% | |
| 5 | Undetermined | 7 | 10.3% | |
| 6 | Heat from powered equipment, other | 2 | 2.9% | |
| 7 | Hot or smoldering object, other | 2 | 2.9% | |
| 8 | Heat, spark from friction | 2 | 2.9% | |
| 9 | Fireworks | 2 | 2.9% | |
| 10 | Cigarette | 2 | 2.9% | |
| 11 | All other sources | 12 | 17.6% |
Per-capita rates let us compare apples to apples. New Hanover sits below the national average for incidents per resident.
Top 25 wildfires (1992+) in the FPA-FOD ignitions database, scaled by acres. 5,506 acres burned in this 50-mile radius. Each dot is a fire — bigger dots burned more land.
| Year | Cause | Acres | Distance | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2015 | Equipment and vehicle use | 848 | 33.2 mi | |
| 2012 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 741 | 12.9 mi | |
| 2006 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 470 | 38.0 mi | |
| 1995 | Railroad operations and maintenance | 325 | 37.1 mi | |
| 2020 | Railroad operations and maintenance | 308 | 43.7 mi | |
| 2017 | Arson/incendiarism | 282 | 48.6 mi | |
| 2005 | Arson/incendiarism | 263 | 48.8 mi | |
| 2006 | Equipment and vehicle use | 250 | 42.7 mi | |
| 2002 | Natural | 250 | 34.0 mi | |
| 2008 | Recreation and ceremony | 193 | 49.3 mi | |
| 2015 | Arson/incendiarism | 184 | 49.5 mi | |
| 2002 | Railroad operations and maintenance | 168 | 43.9 mi |
Top 6 ZIP codes by NFIRS incident count across 2021–2025. Each ZIP has its own fire profile — dive in for neighborhood-level context.
Six Pennsylvania cities with population within ±25% of New Hanover. 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.