In 2025, fire departments serving Portsmouth responded to 142 fire and hazmat incidents — from cooking fires to gas leaks to a single $300K 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 52% of all calls.
Jan peaks. Oct dips. Watch for the typical fall climb starting in October.
796 incidents 2021–2025. Peak year was 2024. $1.5M cumulative property loss.
| Year | Incidents | YoY | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2021 | 127 | — | |
| 2022 | 168 | +32.3% | |
| 2023 | 150 | -10.7% | |
| 2024 | 209 | +39.3% | |
| 2025 | 142 | -32.1% |
For the 12 building fires Portsmouth departments responded to in 2025, here's how they were classified once investigators were finished.
NFIRS Area of Origin (AREA_ORIG) for the 160 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 | 30 | 18.8% | |
| 2 | Undetermined | 29 | 18.1% | |
| 3 | Engine area, running gear, wheel area | 17 | 10.6% | |
| 4 | Highway, parking lot, street: on or near | 13 | 8.1% | |
| 5 | Cooking area, kitchen | 11 | 6.9% | |
| 6 | Other | 8 | 5.0% | |
| 7 | Vehicle area, other | 8 | 5.0% | |
| 8 | Wildland, woods | 7 | 4.4% | |
| 9 | Vehicle storage area; garage, carport | 4 | 2.5% | |
| 10 | Attic: vacant, crawl space above top story, cupola | 4 | 2.5% | |
| 11 | All other areas | 29 | 18.1% |
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 Portsmouth mix.
| # | Heat source | Count | Share | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Undetermined | 85 | 53.1% | |
| 2 | Cigarette | 22 | 13.8% | |
| 3 | Arcing | 8 | 5.0% | |
| 4 | Heat from powered equipment, other | 7 | 4.4% | |
| 5 | Heat source: other | 6 | 3.8% | |
| 6 | Radiated, conducted heat from operating equipment | 6 | 3.8% | |
| 7 | Heat from undetermined smoking material | 4 | 2.5% | |
| 8 | Spark, ember or flame from operating equipment | 3 | 1.9% | |
| 9 | Hot or smoldering object, other | 3 | 1.9% | |
| 10 | Heat, spark from friction | 3 | 1.9% | |
| 11 | All other sources | 13 | 8.1% |
Largest single-incident property losses reported by Portsmouth departments in 2025. These 8 fires alone account for 99% of the city's annual total.
| # | Property loss | Type | Severity | Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | $300,000 | Building fires | Major | Investigated |
| 2 | $150,000 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
| 3 | $30,000 | Passenger vehicle fire | Significant | Investigated |
| 4 | $20,000 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
| 5 | $20,000 | Passenger vehicle fire | Significant | Investigated |
| 6 | $10,000 | Passenger vehicle fire | Significant | Investigated |
| 7 | $5,000 | Fire, other | Significant | Investigated |
| 8 | $5,000 | Mobile property (vehicle) fire, other | Significant | Investigated |
Per-capita rates let us compare apples to apples. Portsmouth sits below the national average for incidents per resident.
Top 25 wildfires (1992+) in the FPA-FOD ignitions database, scaled by acres. 1,541 acres burned in this 50-mile radius. Each dot is a fire — bigger dots burned more land.
| Year | Cause | Acres | Distance | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2018 | Debris and open burning | 314 | 23.7 mi | |
| 2001 | Misuse of fire by a minor | 236 | 46.8 mi | |
| 2007 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 186 | 32.6 mi | |
| 2015 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 92 | 47.1 mi | |
| 2014 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 90 | 39.3 mi | |
| 2015 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 59 | 43.1 mi | |
| 2019 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 54 | 32.3 mi | |
| 2015 | Smoking | 50 | 40.4 mi | |
| 2016 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 50 | 37.3 mi | |
| 2016 | Arson/incendiarism | 42 | 38.6 mi | |
| 2016 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 41 | 35.6 mi | |
| 2009 | Debris and open burning | 40 | 23.4 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 New Hampshire cities with population within ±25% of Portsmouth. Useful comparison targets — same state, similar size, different fire profile.
1 departments report to NFIRS for incidents in Portsmouth.
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.