In 2025, fire departments serving Newbury responded to 46 fire and hazmat incidents — from cooking fires to gas leaks to a single $3K building blaze. Here's the full picture.
Power line down lead by count. Building fires lead by dollars. Together the top five categories make up about 85% of all calls.
Mar peaks. May dips. Watch for the typical fall climb starting in October.
230 incidents 2021–2025. Peak year was 2024. $693K cumulative property loss.
| Year | Incidents | YoY | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2021 | 41 | — | |
| 2022 | 35 | -14.6% | |
| 2023 | 43 | +22.9% | |
| 2024 | 65 | +51.2% | |
| 2025 | 46 | -29.2% |
For the 5 building fires Newbury departments responded to in 2025, here's how they were classified once investigators were finished.
NFIRS Area of Origin (AREA_ORIG) for the 24 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 | 4 | 16.7% | |
| 2 | Cooking area, kitchen | 3 | 12.5% | |
| 3 | Wildland, woods | 3 | 12.5% | |
| 4 | Other | 2 | 8.3% | |
| 5 | Common room, den, family room, living room, lounge | 2 | 8.3% | |
| 6 | Operator/passenger area of transportation equip. | 2 | 8.3% | |
| 7 | Outside area, other | 2 | 8.3% | |
| 8 | Vehicle storage area; garage, carport | 1 | 4.2% | |
| 9 | Exterior balcony, unenclosed porch | 1 | 4.2% | |
| 10 | Wall assembly | 1 | 4.2% | |
| 11 | All other areas | 3 | 12.5% |
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 Newbury mix.
| # | Heat source | Count | Share | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Undetermined | 7 | 29.2% | |
| 2 | Heat source: other | 3 | 12.5% | |
| 3 | Heat from powered equipment, other | 3 | 12.5% | |
| 4 | Arcing | 3 | 12.5% | |
| 5 | Spark, ember or flame from operating equipment | 1 | 4.2% | |
| 6 | Hot or smoldering object, other | 1 | 4.2% | |
| 7 | Hot ember or ash | 1 | 4.2% | |
| 8 | Match | 1 | 4.2% | |
| 9 | Candle | 1 | 4.2% | |
| 10 | Flame/torch used for lighting | 1 | 4.2% | |
| 11 | All other sources | 2 | 8.3% |
Largest single-incident property losses reported by Newbury departments in 2025. These 1 fires alone account for 100% of the city's annual total.
| # | Property loss | Type | Severity | Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | $2,500 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
Per-capita rates let us compare apples to apples. Newbury sits above the national average for incidents per resident.
Top 25 wildfires (1992+) in the FPA-FOD ignitions database, scaled by acres. 1,450 acres burned in this 50-mile radius. Each dot is a fire — bigger dots burned more land.
| Year | Cause | Acres | Distance | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1992 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 270 | 44.1 mi | |
| 2016 | Arson/incendiarism | 190 | 17.8 mi | |
| 2015 | Power generation/transmission/distribution | 137 | 34.2 mi | |
| 2012 | Debris and open burning | 120 | 46.2 mi | |
| 2015 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 92 | 25.7 mi | |
| 2018 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 60 | 37.5 mi | |
| 2015 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 59 | 22.1 mi | |
| 2008 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 54 | 35.1 mi | |
| 2016 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 50 | 49.8 mi | |
| 2015 | Power generation/transmission/distribution | 47 | 45.9 mi | |
| 2016 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 47 | 46.9 mi | |
| 2016 | Arson/incendiarism | 46 | 18.6 mi |
Top 2 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 Newbury. Useful comparison targets — same state, similar size, different fire profile.
1 departments report to NFIRS for incidents in Newbury.
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.