In 2025, fire departments serving Sandown responded to 55 fire and hazmat incidents — from cooking fires to gas leaks to a single $50K building blaze. Here's the full picture.
Unauthorized burning lead by count. Building fires lead by dollars. Together the top five categories make up about 69% of all calls.
Jun peaks. Sep dips. Watch for the typical fall climb starting in October.
288 incidents 2021–2025. Peak year was 2024. $1.1M cumulative property loss.
| Year | Incidents | YoY | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2021 | 48 | — | |
| 2022 | 56 | +16.7% | |
| 2023 | 61 | +8.9% | |
| 2024 | 68 | +11.5% | |
| 2025 | 55 | -19.1% |
For the 1 building fires Sandown departments responded to in 2025, here's how they were classified once investigators were finished.
NFIRS Area of Origin (AREA_ORIG) for the 31 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 | 6 | 19.4% | |
| 2 | Vehicle area, other | 5 | 16.1% | |
| 3 | Engine area, running gear, wheel area | 5 | 16.1% | |
| 4 | Cooking area, kitchen | 4 | 12.9% | |
| 5 | Other | 2 | 6.5% | |
| 6 | Common room, den, family room, living room, lounge | 2 | 6.5% | |
| 7 | Storage area, other | 2 | 6.5% | |
| 8 | Vehicle storage area; garage, carport | 2 | 6.5% | |
| 9 | Closet | 1 | 3.2% | |
| 10 | Duct: hvac, cable, exhaust, heating, or AC | 1 | 3.2% | |
| 11 | All other areas | 1 | 3.2% |
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 Sandown mix.
| # | Heat source | Count | Share | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Undetermined | 15 | 48.4% | |
| 2 | Arcing | 7 | 22.6% | |
| 3 | Heat source: other | 3 | 9.7% | |
| 4 | Radiated, conducted heat from operating equipment | 2 | 6.5% | |
| 5 | Spark, ember or flame from operating equipment | 1 | 3.2% | |
| 6 | Hot or smoldering object, other | 1 | 3.2% | |
| 7 | Cigarette | 1 | 3.2% | |
| 8 | Heat from direct flame, convection currents | 1 | 3.2% |
Largest single-incident property losses reported by Sandown departments in 2025. These 1 fires alone account for 100% of the city's annual total.
| # | Property loss | Type | Severity | Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | $50,000 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
Per-capita rates let us compare apples to apples. Sandown sits above the national average for incidents per resident.
Top 25 wildfires (1992+) in the FPA-FOD ignitions database, scaled by acres. 4,266 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 | 38.0 mi | |
| 2008 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 700 | 38.0 mi | |
| 2018 | Debris and open burning | 314 | 40.9 mi | |
| 2003 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 300 | 45.0 mi | |
| 2002 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 300 | 38.0 mi | |
| 2014 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 256 | 38.1 mi | |
| 2015 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 250 | 38.0 mi | |
| 2016 | Arson/incendiarism | 190 | 45.9 mi | |
| 2007 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 186 | 23.2 mi | |
| 2016 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 172 | 37.9 mi | |
| 2015 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 92 | 40.1 mi | |
| 2014 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 90 | 32.2 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 Sandown. Useful comparison targets — same state, similar size, different fire profile.
1 departments report to NFIRS for incidents in Sandown.
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.