In 2025, fire departments serving Northfield responded to 17 fire and hazmat incidents — from cooking fires to gas leaks to a single $30K 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 71% of all calls.
Feb peaks. Mar dips. Watch for the typical fall climb starting in October.
108 incidents 2021–2025. Peak year was 2022. $580K cumulative property loss.
| Year | Incidents | YoY | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2021 | 29 | — | |
| 2022 | 32 | +10.3% | |
| 2023 | 15 | -53.1% | |
| 2024 | 15 | +0.0% | |
| 2025 | 17 | +13.3% |
For the 3 building fires Northfield departments responded to in 2025, here's how they were classified once investigators were finished.
NFIRS Area of Origin (AREA_ORIG) for the 6 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 | 2 | 33.3% | |
| 2 | Other | 1 | 16.7% | |
| 3 | Entrance way, lobby | 1 | 16.7% | |
| 4 | Operator/passenger area of transportation equip. | 1 | 16.7% | |
| 5 | Engine area, running gear, wheel area | 1 | 16.7% |
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 Northfield mix.
| # | Heat source | Count | Share | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Heat source: other | 3 | 50.0% | |
| 2 | Spark, ember or flame from operating equipment | 1 | 16.7% | |
| 3 | Cigarette | 1 | 16.7% | |
| 4 | Chemical, natural heat source, other | 1 | 16.7% |
Largest single-incident property losses reported by Northfield departments in 2025. These 1 fires alone account for 100% of the city's annual total.
| # | Property loss | Type | Severity | Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | $30,000 | Passenger vehicle fire | Significant | Investigated |
Per-capita rates let us compare apples to apples. Northfield sits below the national average for incidents per resident.
Top 25 wildfires (1992+) in the FPA-FOD ignitions database, scaled by acres. 1,312 acres burned in this 50-mile radius. Each dot is a fire — bigger dots burned more land.
| Year | Cause | Acres | Distance | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2015 | Power generation/transmission/distribution | 137 | 32.2 mi | |
| 2012 | Debris and open burning | 120 | 22.7 mi | |
| 2001 | Arson/incendiarism | 82 | 43.8 mi | |
| 2001 | Natural | 80 | 44.6 mi | |
| 1994 | Smoking | 75 | 46.2 mi | |
| 2017 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 72 | 45.4 mi | |
| 2002 | Natural | 65 | 47.0 mi | |
| 2018 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 60 | 44.0 mi | |
| 2008 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 54 | 48.4 mi | |
| 2012 | Recreation and ceremony | 50 | 35.9 mi | |
| 2016 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 47 | 20.1 mi | |
| 2009 | Arson/incendiarism | 45 | 44.5 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 | 05663 | 108 |
Six Vermont cities with population within ±25% of Northfield. Useful comparison targets — same state, similar size, different fire profile.
1 departments report to NFIRS for incidents in Northfield.
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.