In 2025, fire departments serving Plantsville responded to 57 fire and hazmat incidents — from cooking fires to gas leaks to a single $5K building blaze. Here's the full picture.
Gas leak (natural gas or LPG) lead by count. Building fires lead by dollars. Together the top five categories make up about 58% of all calls.
Apr peaks. Aug dips. Watch for the typical fall climb starting in October.
388 incidents 2021–2025. Peak year was 2021. $737K cumulative property loss.
| Year | Incidents | YoY | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2021 | 91 | — | |
| 2022 | 74 | -18.7% | |
| 2023 | 86 | +16.2% | |
| 2024 | 80 | -7.0% | |
| 2025 | 57 | -28.7% |
For the 2 building fires Plantsville departments responded to in 2025, here's how they were classified once investigators were finished.
NFIRS Area of Origin (AREA_ORIG) for the 67 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 | Engine area, running gear, wheel area | 13 | 19.4% | |
| 2 | Undetermined | 12 | 17.9% | |
| 3 | Open area - outside; included are farmland, field | 7 | 10.4% | |
| 4 | Cooking area, kitchen | 4 | 6.0% | |
| 5 | Outside area, other | 4 | 6.0% | |
| 6 | Highway, parking lot, street: on or near | 4 | 6.0% | |
| 7 | Ceiling & floor assembly, crawl space b/t stories | 3 | 4.5% | |
| 8 | Operator/passenger area of transportation equip. | 3 | 4.5% | |
| 9 | Wildland, woods | 3 | 4.5% | |
| 10 | Laundry area, wash house (laundry) | 2 | 3.0% | |
| 11 | All other areas | 12 | 17.9% |
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 Plantsville mix.
| # | Heat source | Count | Share | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Undetermined | 37 | 55.2% | |
| 2 | Radiated, conducted heat from operating equipment | 7 | 10.4% | |
| 3 | Hot ember or ash | 6 | 9.0% | |
| 4 | Arcing | 4 | 6.0% | |
| 5 | Heat from powered equipment, other | 3 | 4.5% | |
| 6 | Cigarette | 3 | 4.5% | |
| 7 | Molten, hot material | 2 | 3.0% | |
| 8 | Heat from undetermined smoking material | 2 | 3.0% | |
| 9 | Heat, spark from friction | 1 | 1.5% | |
| 10 | Match | 1 | 1.5% | |
| 11 | All other sources | 1 | 1.5% |
Largest single-incident property losses reported by Plantsville departments in 2025. These 5 fires alone account for 100% of the city's annual total.
| # | Property loss | Type | Severity | Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | $5,000 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
| 2 | $1,800 | Passenger vehicle fire | Significant | Investigated |
| 3 | $200 | Special outside fire, other | Significant | Investigated |
| 4 | $1 | Brush, or brush and grass mixture fire | Significant | Investigated |
| 5 | $1 | Passenger vehicle fire | Significant | Investigated |
Per-capita rates let us compare apples to apples. Plantsville sits above the national average for incidents per resident.
Top 25 wildfires (1992+) in the FPA-FOD ignitions database, scaled by acres. 11,471 acres burned in this 50-mile radius. Each dot is a fire — bigger dots burned more land.
| Year | Cause | Acres | Distance | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1995 | Arson/incendiarism | 5,050 | 45.2 mi | |
| 2008 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 1,300 | 16.6 mi | |
| 2012 | Arson/incendiarism | 992 | 48.5 mi | |
| 2001 | Smoking | 550 | 35.9 mi | |
| 2016 | Natural | 384 | 26.9 mi | |
| 1997 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 361 | 20.1 mi | |
| 2010 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 321 | 41.6 mi | |
| 2001 | Recreation and ceremony | 285 | 31.8 mi | |
| 1994 | Misuse of fire by a minor | 180 | 11.3 mi | |
| 1994 | Misuse of fire by a minor | 180 | 11.3 mi | |
| 1999 | Arson/incendiarism | 175 | 10.6 mi | |
| 2008 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 175 | 13.4 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 Connecticut cities with population within ±25% of Plantsville. 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.