In 2025, fire departments serving New Haven responded to 35 fire and hazmat incidents — from cooking fires to gas leaks to a single $15K 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 63% of all calls.
Jul peaks. Aug dips. Watch for the typical fall climb starting in October.
188 incidents 2021–2025. Peak year was 2023. $502K cumulative property loss.
| Year | Incidents | YoY | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2021 | 35 | — | |
| 2022 | 38 | +8.6% | |
| 2023 | 41 | +7.9% | |
| 2024 | 39 | -4.9% | |
| 2025 | 35 | -10.3% |
For the 7 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 40 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 | Other | 6 | 15.0% | |
| 2 | Engine area, running gear, wheel area | 6 | 15.0% | |
| 3 | Undetermined | 6 | 15.0% | |
| 4 | Wall surface: exterior | 4 | 10.0% | |
| 5 | Open area - outside; included are farmland, field | 4 | 10.0% | |
| 6 | Cooking area, kitchen | 2 | 5.0% | |
| 7 | Vehicle storage area; garage, carport | 2 | 5.0% | |
| 8 | Outside area, other | 2 | 5.0% | |
| 9 | Highway, parking lot, street: on or near | 2 | 5.0% | |
| 10 | Wildland, woods | 2 | 5.0% | |
| 11 | All other areas | 4 | 10.0% |
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 | 16 | 40.0% | |
| 2 | Hot or smoldering object, other | 6 | 15.0% | |
| 3 | Heat source: other | 3 | 7.5% | |
| 4 | Heat from powered equipment, other | 3 | 7.5% | |
| 5 | Hot ember or ash | 3 | 7.5% | |
| 6 | Molten, hot material | 2 | 5.0% | |
| 7 | Cigarette | 2 | 5.0% | |
| 8 | Spark, ember or flame from operating equipment | 1 | 2.5% | |
| 9 | Radiated, conducted heat from operating equipment | 1 | 2.5% | |
| 10 | Arcing | 1 | 2.5% | |
| 11 | All other sources | 2 | 5.0% |
Largest single-incident property losses reported by New Haven departments in 2025. These 8 fires alone account for 100% of the city's annual total.
| # | Property loss | Type | Severity | Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | $15,000 | Passenger vehicle fire | Significant | Investigated |
| 2 | $5,000 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
| 3 | $2,500 | Water vehicle fire | Significant | Investigated |
| 4 | $2,000 | Passenger vehicle fire | Significant | Investigated |
| 5 | $2,000 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
| 6 | $2,000 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
| 7 | $800 | Cooking fire, confined to container | Significant | Investigated |
| 8 | $10 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
Per-capita rates let us compare apples to apples. New Haven sits below the national average for incidents per resident.
Top 21 wildfires (1992+) in the FPA-FOD ignitions database, scaled by acres. 592 acres burned in this 50-mile radius. Each dot is a fire — bigger dots burned more land.
| Year | Cause | Acres | Distance | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2012 | Smoking | 64 | 34.0 mi | |
| 2003 | Debris and open burning | 53 | 15.3 mi | |
| 2020 | Debris and open burning | 50 | 44.9 mi | |
| 2019 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 49 | 15.5 mi | |
| 1994 | Recreation and ceremony | 38 | 49.4 mi | |
| 2020 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 37 | 43.0 mi | |
| 2003 | Equipment and vehicle use | 33 | 24.9 mi | |
| 1996 | Misuse of fire by a minor | 30 | 41.8 mi | |
| 2014 | Recreation and ceremony | 30 | 41.0 mi | |
| 2018 | Equipment and vehicle use | 30 | 35.8 mi | |
| 2005 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 27 | 25.6 mi | |
| 2008 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 22 | 39.1 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 Michigan cities with population within ±25% of New Haven. Useful comparison targets — same state, similar size, different fire profile.
1 departments report to NFIRS for incidents in New Haven.
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.