In 2025, fire departments serving Salem responded to 271 fire and hazmat incidents — from cooking fires to gas leaks to a single $409K building blaze. Here's the full picture.
Carbon monoxide incident lead by count. Building fires lead by dollars. Together the top five categories make up about 50% of all calls.
Jan peaks. Jun dips. Watch for the typical fall climb starting in October.
1,330 incidents 2021–2025. Peak year was 2023. $2.6M cumulative property loss.
| Year | Incidents | YoY | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2021 | 265 | — | |
| 2022 | 259 | -2.3% | |
| 2023 | 286 | +10.4% | |
| 2024 | 249 | -12.9% | |
| 2025 | 271 | +8.8% |
For the 11 building fires Salem departments responded to in 2025, here's how they were classified once investigators were finished.
NFIRS Area of Origin (AREA_ORIG) for the 314 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 | 66 | 21.0% | |
| 2 | Highway, parking lot, street: on or near | 48 | 15.3% | |
| 3 | Engine area, running gear, wheel area | 38 | 12.1% | |
| 4 | Wildland, woods | 26 | 8.3% | |
| 5 | Other | 24 | 7.6% | |
| 6 | Undetermined | 18 | 5.7% | |
| 7 | Cooking area, kitchen | 17 | 5.4% | |
| 8 | Open area - outside; included are farmland, field | 13 | 4.1% | |
| 9 | Vehicle area, other | 7 | 2.2% | |
| 10 | Vehicle storage area; garage, carport | 6 | 1.9% | |
| 11 | All other areas | 51 | 16.2% |
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 Salem mix.
| # | Heat source | Count | Share | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Undetermined | 117 | 37.3% | |
| 2 | Heat from powered equipment, other | 39 | 12.4% | |
| 3 | Hot or smoldering object, other | 29 | 9.2% | |
| 4 | Cigarette | 26 | 8.3% | |
| 5 | Hot ember or ash | 21 | 6.7% | |
| 6 | Arcing | 16 | 5.1% | |
| 7 | Heat from other open flame or smoking materials | 12 | 3.8% | |
| 8 | Heat source: other | 9 | 2.9% | |
| 9 | Spark, ember or flame from operating equipment | 7 | 2.2% | |
| 10 | Heat from undetermined smoking material | 7 | 2.2% | |
| 11 | All other sources | 31 | 9.9% |
Largest single-incident property losses reported by Salem departments in 2025. These 7 fires alone account for 100% of the city's annual total.
| # | Property loss | Type | Severity | Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | $408,926 | Building fires | Major | Investigated |
| 2 | $200,000 | Road freight or transport vehicle fire | Significant | Investigated |
| 3 | $20,000 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
| 4 | $7,000 | Passenger vehicle fire | Significant | Investigated |
| 5 | $4,000 | Passenger vehicle fire | Significant | Investigated |
| 6 | $1,200 | Fire, other | Significant | Investigated |
| 7 | $5 | Special outside fire, other | Significant | Investigated |
Per-capita rates let us compare apples to apples. Salem sits above the national average for incidents per resident.
Top 25 wildfires (1992+) in the FPA-FOD ignitions database, scaled by acres. 4,227 acres burned in this 50-mile radius. Each dot is a fire — bigger dots burned more land.
| Year | Cause | Acres | Distance | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2005 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 800 | 29.4 mi | |
| 2008 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 700 | 29.4 mi | |
| 2018 | Debris and open burning | 314 | 50.0 mi | |
| 2003 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 300 | 35.2 mi | |
| 2002 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 300 | 29.4 mi | |
| 2014 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 256 | 29.5 mi | |
| 2015 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 250 | 29.5 mi | |
| 2016 | Arson/incendiarism | 190 | 47.1 mi | |
| 2007 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 186 | 15.5 mi | |
| 2016 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 172 | 29.3 mi | |
| 2015 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 92 | 48.4 mi | |
| 2014 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 90 | 24.3 mi |
Top 5 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 Salem. Useful comparison targets — same state, similar size, different fire profile.
1 departments report to NFIRS for incidents in Salem.
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.