In 2025, fire departments serving North Hampton responded to 88 fire and hazmat incidents — from cooking fires to gas leaks to a single $250K 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 57% of all calls.
Aug peaks. Jan dips. Watch for the typical fall climb starting in October.
425 incidents 2021–2025. Peak year was 2024. $385K cumulative property loss. 1 civilian deaths.
| Year | Incidents | YoY | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2021 | 95 | — | |
| 2022 | 72 | -24.2% | |
| 2023 | 66 | -8.3% | |
| 2024 | 104 | +57.6% | |
| 2025 | 88 | -15.4% |
For the 12 building fires North Hampton departments responded to in 2025, here's how they were classified once investigators were finished.
NFIRS Area of Origin (AREA_ORIG) for the 74 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 | Outside area, other | 22 | 29.7% | |
| 2 | Undetermined | 11 | 14.9% | |
| 3 | Engine area, running gear, wheel area | 8 | 10.8% | |
| 4 | Wildland, woods | 5 | 6.8% | |
| 5 | Cooking area, kitchen | 4 | 5.4% | |
| 6 | Vehicle area, other | 3 | 4.1% | |
| 7 | Storage area, other | 2 | 2.7% | |
| 8 | Exterior, exposed surface | 2 | 2.7% | |
| 9 | Highway, parking lot, street: on or near | 2 | 2.7% | |
| 10 | Open area - outside; included are farmland, field | 2 | 2.7% | |
| 11 | All other areas | 13 | 17.6% |
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 North Hampton mix.
| # | Heat source | Count | Share | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Undetermined | 42 | 56.8% | |
| 2 | Hot ember or ash | 7 | 9.5% | |
| 3 | Heat source: other | 5 | 6.8% | |
| 4 | Arcing | 5 | 6.8% | |
| 5 | Heat from powered equipment, other | 3 | 4.1% | |
| 6 | Cigarette | 3 | 4.1% | |
| 7 | Heat from direct flame, convection currents | 2 | 2.7% | |
| 8 | Hot or smoldering object, other | 1 | 1.4% | |
| 9 | Heat from other open flame or smoking materials | 1 | 1.4% | |
| 10 | Heat from undetermined smoking material | 1 | 1.4% | |
| 11 | All other sources | 4 | 5.4% |
Largest single-incident property losses reported by North Hampton departments in 2025. These 1 fires alone account for 100% of the city's annual total.
| # | Property loss | Type | Severity | Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | $250,000 | Building fires | Major | Investigated |
Per-capita rates let us compare apples to apples. North Hampton sits above the national average for incidents per resident.
Top 25 wildfires (1992+) in the FPA-FOD ignitions database, scaled by acres. 1,321 acres burned in this 50-mile radius. Each dot is a fire — bigger dots burned more land.
| Year | Cause | Acres | Distance | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2018 | Debris and open burning | 314 | 29.6 mi | |
| 2007 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 186 | 26.6 mi | |
| 2015 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 92 | 48.6 mi | |
| 2014 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 90 | 33.5 mi | |
| 2015 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 59 | 42.6 mi | |
| 2019 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 54 | 26.5 mi | |
| 2015 | Smoking | 50 | 34.5 mi | |
| 2016 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 50 | 41.6 mi | |
| 2016 | Arson/incendiarism | 42 | 44.5 mi | |
| 2016 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 41 | 36.3 mi | |
| 2009 | Debris and open burning | 40 | 29.3 mi | |
| 2020 | Arson/incendiarism | 33 | 37.8 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 New Hampshire cities with population within ±25% of North Hampton. Useful comparison targets — same state, similar size, different fire profile.
1 departments report to NFIRS for incidents in North Hampton.
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.