In 2025, fire departments serving Sullivan responded to 13 fire and hazmat incidents . Here's the full picture.
Unauthorized burning lead by count. Building fires lead by dollars. Together the top five categories make up about 100% of all calls.
Apr peaks. Jan dips. Watch for the typical fall climb starting in October.
37 incidents 2021–2025. Peak year was 2025. $20K cumulative property loss.
| Year | Incidents | YoY | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2021 | 6 | — | |
| 2022 | 5 | -16.7% | |
| 2023 | 7 | +40.0% | |
| 2024 | 6 | -14.3% | |
| 2025 | 13 | +116.7% |
For the 0 building fires Sullivan departments responded to in 2025, here's how they were classified once investigators were finished.
NFIRS Area of Origin (AREA_ORIG) for the 4 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 | Other | 2 | 50.0% | |
| 2 | Engine area, running gear, wheel area | 1 | 25.0% | |
| 3 | Open area - outside; included are farmland, field | 1 | 25.0% |
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 Sullivan mix.
| # | Heat source | Count | Share | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Heat source: other | 1 | 25.0% | |
| 2 | Heat from powered equipment, other | 1 | 25.0% | |
| 3 | Cigarette lighter | 1 | 25.0% | |
| 4 | Lightning | 1 | 25.0% |
Per-capita rates let us compare apples to apples. Sullivan sits above the national average for incidents per resident.
Top 25 wildfires (1992+) in the FPA-FOD ignitions database, scaled by acres. 3,912 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 | 46.3 mi | |
| 2008 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 700 | 46.3 mi | |
| 2002 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 300 | 46.3 mi | |
| 1992 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 270 | 41.1 mi | |
| 2014 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 256 | 46.4 mi | |
| 2015 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 250 | 45.6 mi | |
| 2016 | Arson/incendiarism | 190 | 7.6 mi | |
| 2016 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 172 | 46.3 mi | |
| 2015 | Power generation/transmission/distribution | 137 | 49.8 mi | |
| 2004 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 120 | 28.7 mi | |
| 2015 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 92 | 44.8 mi | |
| 2020 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 79 | 46.2 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 Sullivan. Useful comparison targets — same state, similar size, different fire profile.
1 departments report to NFIRS for incidents in Sullivan.
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.