In 2025, fire departments serving Readsboro responded to 15 fire and hazmat incidents — from cooking fires to gas leaks to a single $5K 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 80% of all calls.
Jan peaks. Feb dips. Watch for the typical fall climb starting in October.
51 incidents 2021–2025. Peak year was 2025. $105K cumulative property loss. 1 civilian deaths.
| Year | Incidents | YoY | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2021 | 7 | — | |
| 2022 | 11 | +57.1% | |
| 2023* | 6 | — | |
| 2024 | 12 | — | |
| 2025 | 15 | +25.0% |
* Well below Readsboro's usual volume. That almost always means one or more departments didn't submit a full year to NFIRS, not that fires dropped, so no year-over-year change is shown for it.
For the 4 building fires Readsboro departments responded to in 2025, here's how they were classified once investigators were finished.
NFIRS Area of Origin (AREA_ORIG) for the 11 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 | Undetermined | 5 | 45.5% | |
| 2 | Other | 2 | 18.2% | |
| 3 | Function area, other | 1 | 9.1% | |
| 4 | Vehicle storage area; garage, carport | 1 | 9.1% | |
| 5 | Engine area, running gear, wheel area | 1 | 9.1% | |
| 6 | Outside area, other | 1 | 9.1% |
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 Readsboro mix.
| # | Heat source | Count | Share | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Undetermined | 4 | 36.4% | |
| 2 | Heat from powered equipment, other | 2 | 18.2% | |
| 3 | Arcing | 1 | 9.1% | |
| 4 | Hot or smoldering object, other | 1 | 9.1% | |
| 5 | Hot ember or ash | 1 | 9.1% | |
| 6 | Flame/torch used for lighting | 1 | 9.1% | |
| 7 | Heat from direct flame, convection currents | 1 | 9.1% |
Largest single-incident property losses reported by Readsboro departments in 2025. These 1 fires alone account for 100% of the city's annual total.
| # | Property loss | Type | Severity | Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | $4,500 | Chimney or flue fire, confined to chimney or flue | Significant | Investigated |
Per-capita rates let us compare apples to apples. Readsboro sits above the national average for incidents per resident.
Top 25 wildfires (1992+) in the FPA-FOD ignitions database, scaled by acres. 2,552 acres burned in this 50-mile radius. Each dot is a fire — bigger dots burned more land.
| Year | Cause | Acres | Distance | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2010 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 321 | 43.3 mi | |
| 2015 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 272 | 10.6 mi | |
| 1992 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 270 | 37.2 mi | |
| 2001 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 250 | 40.6 mi | |
| 2016 | Arson/incendiarism | 190 | 48.7 mi | |
| 2008 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 130 | 23.4 mi | |
| 2004 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 120 | 40.9 mi | |
| 1992 | Arson/incendiarism | 100 | 45.3 mi | |
| 2009 | Equipment and vehicle use | 83 | 38.6 mi | |
| 1995 | Debris and open burning | 75 | 20.5 mi | |
| 1999 | Arson/incendiarism | 65 | 41.6 mi | |
| 2019 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 58 | 47.2 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 Vermont cities with population within ±25% of Readsboro. Useful comparison targets — same state, similar size, different fire profile.
1 departments report to NFIRS for incidents in Readsboro.
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.