In 2025, fire departments serving Norwich responded to 67 fire and hazmat incidents . Here's the full picture.
Hazardous condition, other lead by count. Building fires lead by dollars. Together the top five categories make up about 97% of all calls.
Oct peaks. Aug dips. Watch for the typical fall climb starting in October.
303 incidents 2021–2025. Peak year was 2022. $2K cumulative property loss.
| Year | Incidents | YoY | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2021 | 45 | — | |
| 2022 | 86 | +91.1% | |
| 2023 | 56 | -34.9% | |
| 2024 | 49 | -12.5% | |
| 2025 | 67 | +36.7% |
For the 3 building fires Norwich 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 | Other | 2 | 33.3% | |
| 2 | Cooking area, kitchen | 2 | 33.3% | |
| 3 | Exterior, exposed surface | 1 | 16.7% | |
| 4 | Undetermined | 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 Norwich mix.
| # | Heat source | Count | Share | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Heat source: other | 3 | 50.0% | |
| 2 | Arcing | 1 | 16.7% | |
| 3 | Heat from direct flame, convection currents | 1 | 16.7% | |
| 4 | Undetermined | 1 | 16.7% |
Per-capita rates let us compare apples to apples. Norwich sits above the national average for incidents per resident.
Top 25 wildfires (1992+) in the FPA-FOD ignitions database, scaled by acres. 1,360 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 | 41.1 mi | |
| 2016 | Arson/incendiarism | 190 | 49.4 mi | |
| 2015 | Power generation/transmission/distribution | 137 | 5.0 mi | |
| 2012 | Debris and open burning | 120 | 13.6 mi | |
| 2015 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 92 | 43.8 mi | |
| 2017 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 72 | 33.3 mi | |
| 2018 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 60 | 26.3 mi | |
| 2008 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 54 | 24.3 mi | |
| 2016 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 47 | 13.5 mi | |
| 2012 | Debris and open burning | 35 | 41.7 mi | |
| 2016 | Arson/incendiarism | 30 | 47.1 mi | |
| 2016 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 30 | 41.7 mi |
Top 3 ZIP codes by NFIRS incident count across 2021–2025. Each ZIP has its own fire profile — dive in for neighborhood-level context.
Six Vermont cities with population within ±25% of Norwich. Useful comparison targets — same state, similar size, different fire profile.
1 departments report to NFIRS for incidents in Norwich.
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.