In 2025, fire departments serving Newport responded to 102 fire and hazmat incidents — from cooking fires to gas leaks to a single $100K 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 72% of all calls.
Jul peaks. May dips. Watch for the typical fall climb starting in October.
566 incidents 2021–2025. Peak year was 2022. $844K cumulative property loss.
| Year | Incidents | YoY | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2021 | 90 | — | |
| 2022 | 139 | +54.4% | |
| 2023 | 130 | -6.5% | |
| 2024 | 105 | -19.2% | |
| 2025 | 102 | -2.9% |
For the 22 building fires Newport departments responded to in 2025, here's how they were classified once investigators were finished.
NFIRS Area of Origin (AREA_ORIG) for the 76 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 | Engine area, running gear, wheel area | 13 | 17.1% | |
| 2 | Cooking area, kitchen | 11 | 14.5% | |
| 3 | Outside area, other | 8 | 10.5% | |
| 4 | Undetermined | 5 | 6.6% | |
| 5 | Bathroom, checkroom, lavatory, locker room | 3 | 3.9% | |
| 6 | Vehicle storage area; garage, carport | 3 | 3.9% | |
| 7 | Cargo/trunk area - all vehicles | 3 | 3.9% | |
| 8 | Common room, den, family room, living room, lounge | 2 | 2.6% | |
| 9 | Bedroom - < 5 persons; included are jail or prison | 2 | 2.6% | |
| 10 | Processing/manufacturing area, workroom | 2 | 2.6% | |
| 11 | All other areas | 24 | 31.6% |
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 Newport mix.
| # | Heat source | Count | Share | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Undetermined | 24 | 31.6% | |
| 2 | Arcing | 9 | 11.8% | |
| 3 | Heat source: other | 8 | 10.5% | |
| 4 | Heat from powered equipment, other | 8 | 10.5% | |
| 5 | Hot ember or ash | 5 | 6.6% | |
| 6 | Spark, ember or flame from operating equipment | 3 | 3.9% | |
| 7 | Cigarette | 3 | 3.9% | |
| 8 | Flame/torch used for lighting | 3 | 3.9% | |
| 9 | Radiated, conducted heat from operating equipment | 2 | 2.6% | |
| 10 | Heat from other open flame or smoking materials | 2 | 2.6% | |
| 11 | All other sources | 9 | 11.8% |
Largest single-incident property losses reported by Newport departments in 2025. These 6 fires alone account for 100% of the city's annual total.
| # | Property loss | Type | Severity | Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | $100,000 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
| 2 | $50,000 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
| 3 | $10,000 | Passenger vehicle fire | Significant | Investigated |
| 4 | $10,000 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
| 5 | $8,000 | Outside storage fire | Significant | Investigated |
| 6 | $2,000 | Passenger vehicle fire | Significant | Investigated |
Per-capita rates let us compare apples to apples. Newport sits above the national average for incidents per resident.
Top 25 wildfires (1992+) in the FPA-FOD ignitions database, scaled by acres. 1,417 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 | 35.5 mi | |
| 2016 | Arson/incendiarism | 190 | 22.0 mi | |
| 2015 | Power generation/transmission/distribution | 137 | 27.0 mi | |
| 2012 | Debris and open burning | 120 | 40.8 mi | |
| 2015 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 92 | 33.2 mi | |
| 2018 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 60 | 28.1 mi | |
| 2015 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 59 | 31.4 mi | |
| 2008 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 54 | 35.3 mi | |
| 2015 | Power generation/transmission/distribution | 47 | 43.2 mi | |
| 2016 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 47 | 40.8 mi | |
| 2016 | Arson/incendiarism | 46 | 22.8 mi | |
| 2016 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 41 | 39.7 mi |
Top 1 ZIP codes by NFIRS incident count across 2021–2025. Each ZIP has its own fire profile — dive in for neighborhood-level context.
| # | ZIP | 5-yr incidents | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 03773 | 566 |
Six New Hampshire cities with population within ±25% of Newport. Useful comparison targets — same state, similar size, different fire profile.
1 departments report to NFIRS for incidents in Newport.
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.