In 2025, fire departments serving Salisbury responded to 28 fire and hazmat incidents . Here's the full picture.
Forest, woods or wildland fire lead by count. Building fires lead by dollars. Together the top five categories make up about 64% of all calls.
Aug peaks. May dips. Watch for the typical fall climb starting in October.
105 incidents 2021–2025. Peak year was 2024. $7K cumulative property loss.
| Year | Incidents | YoY | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2021 | 16 | — | |
| 2022 | 14 | -12.5% | |
| 2023 | 14 | +0.0% | |
| 2024 | 33 | +135.7% | |
| 2025 | 28 | -15.2% |
For the 2 building fires Salisbury departments responded to in 2025, here's how they were classified once investigators were finished.
NFIRS Area of Origin (AREA_ORIG) for the 21 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 | Wildland, woods | 5 | 23.8% | |
| 2 | Undetermined | 5 | 23.8% | |
| 3 | Outside area, other | 4 | 19.0% | |
| 4 | Structural area, other | 2 | 9.5% | |
| 5 | Highway, parking lot, street: on or near | 2 | 9.5% | |
| 6 | Open area - outside; included are farmland, field | 2 | 9.5% | |
| 7 | Service facilities, other | 1 | 4.8% |
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 Salisbury mix.
| # | Heat source | Count | Share | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Undetermined | 6 | 28.6% | |
| 2 | Heat source: other | 4 | 19.0% | |
| 3 | Spark, ember or flame from operating equipment | 4 | 19.0% | |
| 4 | Heat from powered equipment, other | 1 | 4.8% | |
| 5 | Arcing | 1 | 4.8% | |
| 6 | Hot or smoldering object, other | 1 | 4.8% | |
| 7 | Cigarette lighter | 1 | 4.8% | |
| 8 | Lightning | 1 | 4.8% | |
| 9 | Heat from direct flame, convection currents | 1 | 4.8% | |
| 10 | Flying brand, ember, spark | 1 | 4.8% |
Per-capita rates let us compare apples to apples. Salisbury sits above the national average for incidents per resident.
Top 25 wildfires (1992+) in the FPA-FOD ignitions database, scaled by acres. 1,435 acres burned in this 50-mile radius. Each dot is a fire — bigger dots burned more land.
| Year | Cause | Acres | Distance | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2015 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 275 | 37.9 mi | |
| 2016 | Arson/incendiarism | 190 | 27.3 mi | |
| 2015 | Power generation/transmission/distribution | 137 | 40.1 mi | |
| 2012 | Debris and open burning | 120 | 48.1 mi | |
| 2015 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 92 | 11.7 mi | |
| 2017 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 72 | 45.6 mi | |
| 2015 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 59 | 13.6 mi | |
| 2008 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 54 | 29.4 mi | |
| 2016 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 50 | 35.8 mi | |
| 2016 | Arson/incendiarism | 46 | 27.9 mi | |
| 2016 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 41 | 18.6 mi | |
| 2016 | Arson/incendiarism | 30 | 35.9 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 Salisbury. Useful comparison targets — same state, similar size, different fire profile.
1 departments report to NFIRS for incidents in Salisbury.
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.