In 2025, fire departments serving Pelham responded to 109 fire and hazmat incidents — from cooking fires to gas leaks to a single $300K building blaze. Here's the full picture.
Unauthorized burning lead by count. Building fires lead by dollars. Together the top five categories make up about 62% of all calls.
Jan peaks. Sep dips. Watch for the typical fall climb starting in October.
659 incidents 2021–2025. Peak year was 2024. $737K cumulative property loss. 1 civilian deaths.
| Year | Incidents | YoY | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2021 | 143 | — | |
| 2022 | 138 | -3.5% | |
| 2023 | 115 | -16.7% | |
| 2024 | 154 | +33.9% | |
| 2025 | 109 | -29.2% |
For the 11 building fires Pelham departments responded to in 2025, here's how they were classified once investigators were finished.
NFIRS Area of Origin (AREA_ORIG) for the 85 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 | 25 | 29.4% | |
| 2 | Engine area, running gear, wheel area | 12 | 14.1% | |
| 3 | Undetermined | 10 | 11.8% | |
| 4 | Wildland, woods | 8 | 9.4% | |
| 5 | Other | 6 | 7.1% | |
| 6 | Cooking area, kitchen | 4 | 4.7% | |
| 7 | Open area - outside; included are farmland, field | 4 | 4.7% | |
| 8 | Highway, parking lot, street: on or near | 3 | 3.5% | |
| 9 | Bedroom - < 5 persons; included are jail or prison | 2 | 2.4% | |
| 10 | Vehicle area, other | 2 | 2.4% | |
| 11 | All other areas | 9 | 10.6% |
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 Pelham mix.
| # | Heat source | Count | Share | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Undetermined | 37 | 43.5% | |
| 2 | Hot ember or ash | 7 | 8.2% | |
| 3 | Heat from powered equipment, other | 6 | 7.1% | |
| 4 | Arcing | 6 | 7.1% | |
| 5 | Heat source: other | 5 | 5.9% | |
| 6 | Radiated, conducted heat from operating equipment | 4 | 4.7% | |
| 7 | Hot or smoldering object, other | 3 | 3.5% | |
| 8 | Heat from other open flame or smoking materials | 3 | 3.5% | |
| 9 | Cigarette lighter | 2 | 2.4% | |
| 10 | Flying brand, ember, spark | 2 | 2.4% | |
| 11 | All other sources | 10 | 11.8% |
Largest single-incident property losses reported by Pelham departments in 2025. These 2 fires alone account for 100% of the city's annual total.
| # | Property loss | Type | Severity | Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | $300,000 | Building fires | Major | Investigated |
| 2 | $223,600 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
Per-capita rates let us compare apples to apples. Pelham sits above the national average for incidents per resident.
Top 25 wildfires (1992+) in the FPA-FOD ignitions database, scaled by acres. 3,987 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 | 22.9 mi | |
| 2008 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 700 | 22.9 mi | |
| 2003 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 300 | 32.0 mi | |
| 2002 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 300 | 22.9 mi | |
| 2014 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 256 | 23.0 mi | |
| 2015 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 250 | 23.0 mi | |
| 2016 | Arson/incendiarism | 190 | 44.2 mi | |
| 2007 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 186 | 17.3 mi | |
| 2016 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 172 | 22.8 mi | |
| 2004 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 120 | 46.0 mi | |
| 2014 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 90 | 25.0 mi | |
| 2020 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 79 | 23.1 mi |
Top 4 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 Pelham. Useful comparison targets — same state, similar size, different fire profile.
1 departments report to NFIRS for incidents in Pelham.
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.