In 2025, fire departments serving New Haven responded to 41 fire and hazmat incidents — from cooking fires to gas leaks to a single $107K building blaze. Here's the full picture.
Authorized controlled burning lead by count. Building fires lead by dollars. Together the top five categories make up about 54% of all calls.
Mar peaks. Sep dips. Watch for the typical fall climb starting in October.
186 incidents 2021–2025. Peak year was 2023. $622K cumulative property loss.
| Year | Incidents | YoY | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2021 | 23 | — | |
| 2022 | 30 | +30.4% | |
| 2023 | 49 | +63.3% | |
| 2024 | 43 | -12.2% | |
| 2025 | 41 | -4.7% |
For the 4 building fires New Haven departments responded to in 2025, here's how they were classified once investigators were finished.
NFIRS Area of Origin (AREA_ORIG) for the 43 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 | 17 | 39.5% | |
| 2 | Vehicle area, other | 6 | 14.0% | |
| 3 | Engine area, running gear, wheel area | 4 | 9.3% | |
| 4 | Storage area, other | 3 | 7.0% | |
| 5 | Bedroom - < 5 persons; included are jail or prison | 2 | 4.7% | |
| 6 | Cooking area, kitchen | 2 | 4.7% | |
| 7 | Attic: vacant, crawl space above top story, cupola | 2 | 4.7% | |
| 8 | Entrance way, lobby | 1 | 2.3% | |
| 9 | Common room, den, family room, living room, lounge | 1 | 2.3% | |
| 10 | Function area, other | 1 | 2.3% | |
| 11 | All other areas | 4 | 9.3% |
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 New Haven mix.
| # | Heat source | Count | Share | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Undetermined | 32 | 74.4% | |
| 2 | Heat from powered equipment, other | 3 | 7.0% | |
| 3 | Radiated, conducted heat from operating equipment | 3 | 7.0% | |
| 4 | Heat from other open flame or smoking materials | 2 | 4.7% | |
| 5 | Hot or smoldering object, other | 1 | 2.3% | |
| 6 | Heat, spark from friction | 1 | 2.3% | |
| 7 | Cigarette lighter | 1 | 2.3% |
Largest single-incident property losses reported by New Haven departments in 2025. These 4 fires alone account for 100% of the city's annual total.
| # | Property loss | Type | Severity | Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | $107,000 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
| 2 | $15,000 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
| 3 | $4,000 | Passenger vehicle fire | Significant | Investigated |
| 4 | $3,000 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
Per-capita rates let us compare apples to apples. New Haven sits above the national average for incidents per resident.
Top 25 wildfires (1992+) in the FPA-FOD ignitions database, scaled by acres. 3,944 acres burned in this 50-mile radius. Each dot is a fire — bigger dots burned more land.
| Year | Cause | Acres | Distance | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | Arson/incendiarism | 584 | 46.5 mi | |
| 1999 | Equipment and vehicle use | 400 | 47.8 mi | |
| 2010 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 250 | 29.4 mi | |
| 2010 | Railroad operations and maintenance | 215 | 17.1 mi | |
| 1999 | Smoking | 201 | 21.6 mi | |
| 2001 | Debris and open burning | 182 | 46.4 mi | |
| 2011 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 170 | 32.7 mi | |
| 1995 | Smoking | 144 | 44.1 mi | |
| 2010 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 144 | 30.1 mi | |
| 2000 | Debris and open burning | 142 | 41.7 mi | |
| 2000 | Debris and open burning | 132 | 42.0 mi | |
| 1998 | Arson/incendiarism | 125 | 17.8 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 Kentucky cities with population within ±25% of New Haven. 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.