In 2025, fire departments serving Plymouth responded to 65 fire and hazmat incidents — from cooking fires to gas leaks to a single $20K 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 59% of all calls.
Mar peaks. Oct dips. Watch for the typical fall climb starting in October.
450 incidents 2021–2025. Peak year was 2024. $1.1M cumulative property loss.
| Year | Incidents | YoY | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2021 | 92 | — | |
| 2022 | 94 | +2.2% | |
| 2023 | 84 | -10.6% | |
| 2024 | 115 | +36.9% | |
| 2025 | 65 | -43.5% |
For the 13 building fires Plymouth departments responded to in 2025, here's how they were classified once investigators were finished.
NFIRS Area of Origin (AREA_ORIG) for the 96 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 | 20 | 20.8% | |
| 2 | Other | 10 | 10.4% | |
| 3 | Engine area, running gear, wheel area | 8 | 8.3% | |
| 4 | Cooking area, kitchen | 6 | 6.2% | |
| 5 | Wildland, woods | 6 | 6.2% | |
| 6 | Structural area, other | 5 | 5.2% | |
| 7 | Heating room or area, water heater area | 4 | 4.2% | |
| 8 | Wall assembly | 4 | 4.2% | |
| 9 | Highway, parking lot, street: on or near | 4 | 4.2% | |
| 10 | Open area - outside; included are farmland, field | 4 | 4.2% | |
| 11 | All other areas | 25 | 26.0% |
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 Plymouth mix.
| # | Heat source | Count | Share | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Undetermined | 36 | 37.5% | |
| 2 | Hot ember or ash | 9 | 9.4% | |
| 3 | Hot or smoldering object, other | 6 | 6.2% | |
| 4 | Cigarette lighter | 6 | 6.2% | |
| 5 | Spark, ember or flame from operating equipment | 5 | 5.2% | |
| 6 | Heat, spark from friction | 5 | 5.2% | |
| 7 | Heat source: other | 4 | 4.2% | |
| 8 | Radiated, conducted heat from operating equipment | 4 | 4.2% | |
| 9 | Cigarette | 4 | 4.2% | |
| 10 | Heat from powered equipment, other | 3 | 3.1% | |
| 11 | All other sources | 14 | 14.6% |
Largest single-incident property losses reported by Plymouth departments in 2025. These 4 fires alone account for 100% of the city's annual total.
| # | Property loss | Type | Severity | Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | $20,000 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
| 2 | $10,000 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
| 3 | $4,000 | Passenger vehicle fire | Significant | Investigated |
| 4 | $1,000 | Passenger vehicle fire | Significant | Investigated |
Per-capita rates let us compare apples to apples. Plymouth sits above the national average for incidents per resident.
Top 25 wildfires (1992+) in the FPA-FOD ignitions database, scaled by acres. 1,696 acres burned in this 50-mile radius. Each dot is a fire — bigger dots burned more land.
| Year | Cause | Acres | Distance | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2016 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 329 | 30.1 mi | |
| 2015 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 275 | 23.7 mi | |
| 2004 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 139 | 34.6 mi | |
| 2015 | Power generation/transmission/distribution | 137 | 34.4 mi | |
| 2012 | Debris and open burning | 120 | 33.0 mi | |
| 2015 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 92 | 22.1 mi | |
| 2017 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 72 | 20.8 mi | |
| 1995 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 60 | 44.6 mi | |
| 2015 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 59 | 36.7 mi | |
| 2008 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 54 | 7.0 mi | |
| 2016 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 50 | 34.3 mi | |
| 2016 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 47 | 36.6 mi |
Top 2 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 Plymouth. 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.