In 2025, fire departments serving North Smithfield responded to 124 fire and hazmat incidents — from cooking fires to gas leaks to a single $300K 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 53% of all calls.
Jul peaks. Mar dips. Watch for the typical fall climb starting in October.
615 incidents 2021–2025. Peak year was 2022. $1.6M cumulative property loss.
| Year | Incidents | YoY | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2021 | 125 | — | |
| 2022 | 144 | +15.2% | |
| 2023 | 120 | -16.7% | |
| 2024 | 102 | -15.0% | |
| 2025 | 124 | +21.6% |
For the 5 building fires North Smithfield departments responded to in 2025, here's how they were classified once investigators were finished.
NFIRS Area of Origin (AREA_ORIG) for the 105 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 | 30 | 28.6% | |
| 2 | Engine area, running gear, wheel area | 18 | 17.1% | |
| 3 | Cooking area, kitchen | 9 | 8.6% | |
| 4 | Vehicle area, other | 9 | 8.6% | |
| 5 | Outside area, other | 9 | 8.6% | |
| 6 | Other | 7 | 6.7% | |
| 7 | Bedroom - < 5 persons; included are jail or prison | 4 | 3.8% | |
| 8 | Operator/passenger area of transportation equip. | 3 | 2.9% | |
| 9 | Common room, den, family room, living room, lounge | 2 | 1.9% | |
| 10 | Attic: vacant, crawl space above top story, cupola | 2 | 1.9% | |
| 11 | All other areas | 12 | 11.4% |
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 Smithfield mix.
| # | Heat source | Count | Share | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Undetermined | 67 | 63.8% | |
| 2 | Arcing | 9 | 8.6% | |
| 3 | Heat source: other | 6 | 5.7% | |
| 4 | Heat from powered equipment, other | 6 | 5.7% | |
| 5 | Hot or smoldering object, other | 3 | 2.9% | |
| 6 | Hot ember or ash | 3 | 2.9% | |
| 7 | Cigarette | 3 | 2.9% | |
| 8 | Spark, ember or flame from operating equipment | 2 | 1.9% | |
| 9 | Radiated, conducted heat from operating equipment | 2 | 1.9% | |
| 10 | Candle | 2 | 1.9% | |
| 11 | All other sources | 2 | 1.9% |
Largest single-incident property losses reported by North Smithfield departments in 2025. These 8 fires alone account for 100% of the city's annual total.
| # | Property loss | Type | Severity | Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | $300,000 | Passenger vehicle fire | Major | Investigated |
| 2 | $65,000 | Off-road vehicle or heavy equipment fire | Significant | Investigated |
| 3 | $30,000 | Passenger vehicle fire | Significant | Investigated |
| 4 | $15,000 | Passenger vehicle fire | Significant | Investigated |
| 5 | $10,000 | Passenger vehicle fire | Significant | Investigated |
| 6 | $10,000 | Passenger vehicle fire | Significant | Investigated |
| 7 | $5,000 | Mobile property (vehicle) fire, other | Significant | Investigated |
| 8 | $1,000 | Fire, other | Significant | Investigated |
Per-capita rates let us compare apples to apples. North Smithfield sits above the national average for incidents per resident.
Top 25 wildfires (1992+) in the FPA-FOD ignitions database, scaled by acres. 3,643 acres burned in this 50-mile radius. Each dot is a fire — bigger dots burned more land.
| Year | Cause | Acres | Distance | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2005 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 800 | 36.5 mi | |
| 2008 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 700 | 36.5 mi | |
| 2003 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 300 | 28.6 mi | |
| 2002 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 300 | 36.5 mi | |
| 2014 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 256 | 36.4 mi | |
| 2015 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 250 | 37.0 mi | |
| 2016 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 172 | 36.6 mi | |
| 2020 | Recreation and ceremony | 94 | 35.9 mi | |
| 2014 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 90 | 47.9 mi | |
| 2020 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 79 | 36.5 mi | |
| 2018 | Debris and open burning | 58 | 34.8 mi | |
| 2016 | Debris and open burning | 55 | 32.9 mi |
Top 7 ZIP codes by NFIRS incident count across 2021–2025. Each ZIP has its own fire profile — dive in for neighborhood-level context.
Six Rhode Island cities with population within ±25% of North Smithfield. 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.