In 2025, fire departments serving Ryegate responded to 13 fire and hazmat incidents . Here's the full picture.
Building fires lead by count. Building fires lead by dollars. Together the top five categories make up about 77% of all calls.
Dec peaks. Jan dips. Watch for the typical fall climb starting in October.
49 incidents 2021–2025. Peak year was 2025. $150K cumulative property loss. 1 civilian deaths.
| Year | Incidents | YoY | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2021 | 10 | — | |
| 2022 | 10 | +0.0% | |
| 2023 | 8 | -20.0% | |
| 2024 | 8 | +0.0% | |
| 2025 | 13 | +62.5% |
For the 4 building fires Ryegate departments responded to in 2025, here's how they were classified once investigators were finished.
NFIRS Area of Origin (AREA_ORIG) for the 3 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 | Common room, den, family room, living room, lounge | 1 | 33.3% | |
| 2 | Highway, parking lot, street: on or near | 1 | 33.3% | |
| 3 | Open area - outside; included are farmland, field | 1 | 33.3% |
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 Ryegate mix.
| # | Heat source | Count | Share | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Heat from powered equipment, other | 1 | 33.3% | |
| 2 | Flame/torch used for lighting | 1 | 33.3% | |
| 3 | Undetermined | 1 | 33.3% |
Per-capita rates let us compare apples to apples. Ryegate sits above the national average for incidents per resident.
Top 21 wildfires (1992+) in the FPA-FOD ignitions database, scaled by acres. 1,112 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 | 46.0 mi | |
| 2004 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 139 | 46.7 mi | |
| 2015 | Power generation/transmission/distribution | 137 | 37.4 mi | |
| 2012 | Debris and open burning | 120 | 21.5 mi | |
| 2017 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 72 | 20.7 mi | |
| 2008 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 54 | 32.1 mi | |
| 2016 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 47 | 24.4 mi | |
| 2012 | Debris and open burning | 35 | 44.5 mi | |
| 2014 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 24 | 48.7 mi | |
| 2016 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 20 | 49.6 mi | |
| 2013 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 20 | 21.3 mi | |
| 1992 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 15 | 16.9 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 Vermont cities with population within ±25% of Ryegate. 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.