In 2025, fire departments serving Stratham responded to 65 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 57% of all calls.
Apr peaks. May dips. Watch for the typical fall climb starting in October.
386 incidents 2021–2025. Peak year was 2024. $425K cumulative property loss.
| Year | Incidents | YoY | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2021 | 81 | — | |
| 2022 | 58 | -28.4% | |
| 2023 | 83 | +43.1% | |
| 2024 | 99 | +19.3% | |
| 2025 | 65 | -34.3% |
For the 12 building fires Stratham departments responded to in 2025, here's how they were classified once investigators were finished.
NFIRS Area of Origin (AREA_ORIG) for the 121 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 | 25 | 20.7% | |
| 2 | Highway, parking lot, street: on or near | 14 | 11.6% | |
| 3 | Cooking area, kitchen | 9 | 7.4% | |
| 4 | Undetermined | 9 | 7.4% | |
| 5 | Vehicle area, other | 7 | 5.8% | |
| 6 | Other | 6 | 5.0% | |
| 7 | Engine area, running gear, wheel area | 6 | 5.0% | |
| 8 | Vehicle storage area; garage, carport | 4 | 3.3% | |
| 9 | Duct: hvac, cable, exhaust, heating, or AC | 4 | 3.3% | |
| 10 | Courtyard, patio, porch, terrace | 4 | 3.3% | |
| 11 | All other areas | 33 | 27.3% |
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 Stratham mix.
| # | Heat source | Count | Share | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Undetermined | 34 | 28.1% | |
| 2 | Arcing | 16 | 13.2% | |
| 3 | Spark, ember or flame from operating equipment | 12 | 9.9% | |
| 4 | Hot ember or ash | 12 | 9.9% | |
| 5 | Heat from powered equipment, other | 10 | 8.3% | |
| 6 | Radiated, conducted heat from operating equipment | 6 | 5.0% | |
| 7 | Hot or smoldering object, other | 5 | 4.1% | |
| 8 | Heat source: other | 3 | 2.5% | |
| 9 | Heat, spark from friction | 3 | 2.5% | |
| 10 | Cigarette | 3 | 2.5% | |
| 11 | All other sources | 17 | 14.0% |
Per-capita rates let us compare apples to apples. Stratham sits above the national average for incidents per resident.
Top 25 wildfires (1992+) in the FPA-FOD ignitions database, scaled by acres. 1,321 acres burned in this 50-mile radius. Each dot is a fire — bigger dots burned more land.
| Year | Cause | Acres | Distance | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2018 | Debris and open burning | 314 | 28.4 mi | |
| 2007 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 186 | 28.0 mi | |
| 2015 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 92 | 44.3 mi | |
| 2014 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 90 | 35.6 mi | |
| 2015 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 59 | 38.4 mi | |
| 2019 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 54 | 28.6 mi | |
| 2015 | Smoking | 50 | 36.3 mi | |
| 2016 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 50 | 38.1 mi | |
| 2016 | Arson/incendiarism | 42 | 44.4 mi | |
| 2016 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 41 | 32.0 mi | |
| 2009 | Debris and open burning | 40 | 28.3 mi | |
| 2020 | Arson/incendiarism | 33 | 37.6 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 New Hampshire cities with population within ±25% of Stratham. Useful comparison targets — same state, similar size, different fire profile.
1 departments report to NFIRS for incidents in Stratham.
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.