In 2025, fire departments serving Sunapee responded to 98 fire and hazmat incidents — from cooking fires to gas leaks to a single $500K building blaze. Here's the full picture.
Power line down lead by count. Building fires lead by dollars. Together the top five categories make up about 77% of all calls.
Mar peaks. Sep dips. Watch for the typical fall climb starting in October.
310 incidents 2021–2025. Peak year was 2025. $500K cumulative property loss.
| Year | Incidents | YoY | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2021 | 46 | — | |
| 2022 | 40 | -13.0% | |
| 2023 | 61 | +52.5% | |
| 2024 | 65 | +6.6% | |
| 2025 | 98 | +50.8% |
For the 11 building fires Sunapee departments responded to in 2025, here's how they were classified once investigators were finished.
NFIRS Area of Origin (AREA_ORIG) for the 24 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 | 6 | 25.0% | |
| 2 | Outside area, other | 4 | 16.7% | |
| 3 | Undetermined | 4 | 16.7% | |
| 4 | Engine area, running gear, wheel area | 3 | 12.5% | |
| 5 | Wildland, woods | 2 | 8.3% | |
| 6 | Service facilities, other | 1 | 4.2% | |
| 7 | Attic: vacant, crawl space above top story, cupola | 1 | 4.2% | |
| 8 | Wall surface: exterior | 1 | 4.2% | |
| 9 | Exterior, exposed surface | 1 | 4.2% | |
| 10 | Open area - outside; included are farmland, field | 1 | 4.2% |
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 Sunapee mix.
| # | Heat source | Count | Share | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Heat source: other | 7 | 29.2% | |
| 2 | Undetermined | 6 | 25.0% | |
| 3 | Arcing | 4 | 16.7% | |
| 4 | Heat from powered equipment, other | 3 | 12.5% | |
| 5 | Hot or smoldering object, other | 2 | 8.3% | |
| 6 | Hot ember or ash | 1 | 4.2% | |
| 7 | Lightning | 1 | 4.2% |
Largest single-incident property losses reported by Sunapee departments in 2025. These 1 fires alone account for 100% of the city's annual total.
| # | Property loss | Type | Severity | Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | $500,000 | Building fires | Major | Investigated |
Per-capita rates let us compare apples to apples. Sunapee sits above the national average for incidents per resident.
Top 25 wildfires (1992+) in the FPA-FOD ignitions database, scaled by acres. 1,471 acres burned in this 50-mile radius. Each dot is a fire — bigger dots burned more land.
| Year | Cause | Acres | Distance | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1992 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 270 | 41.1 mi | |
| 2016 | Arson/incendiarism | 190 | 23.0 mi | |
| 2015 | Power generation/transmission/distribution | 137 | 28.0 mi | |
| 2012 | Debris and open burning | 120 | 40.2 mi | |
| 2015 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 92 | 27.4 mi | |
| 2017 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 72 | 47.4 mi | |
| 2018 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 60 | 32.8 mi | |
| 2015 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 59 | 27.0 mi | |
| 2008 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 54 | 31.1 mi | |
| 2015 | Power generation/transmission/distribution | 47 | 47.9 mi | |
| 2016 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 47 | 40.8 mi | |
| 2016 | Arson/incendiarism | 46 | 23.7 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 Sunapee. Useful comparison targets — same state, similar size, different fire profile.
1 departments report to NFIRS for incidents in Sunapee.
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.