In 2025, fire departments serving Swanton responded to 56 fire and hazmat incidents — from cooking fires to gas leaks to a single $20K building blaze. Here's the full picture.
Vehicle accident, general cleanup lead by count. Building fires lead by dollars. Together the top five categories make up about 88% of all calls.
Feb peaks. Jul dips. Watch for the typical fall climb starting in October.
324 incidents 2021–2025. Peak year was 2024. $1.3M cumulative property loss. 1 civilian deaths.
| Year | Incidents | YoY | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2021 | 50 | — | |
| 2022 | 65 | +30.0% | |
| 2023 | 40 | -38.5% | |
| 2024 | 113 | +182.5% | |
| 2025 | 56 | -50.4% |
For the 3 building fires Swanton departments responded to in 2025, here's how they were classified once investigators were finished.
NFIRS Area of Origin (AREA_ORIG) for the 33 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 | 9 | 27.3% | |
| 2 | Engine area, running gear, wheel area | 4 | 12.1% | |
| 3 | Vehicle area, other | 3 | 9.1% | |
| 4 | Storage area, other | 2 | 6.1% | |
| 5 | Highway, parking lot, street: on or near | 2 | 6.1% | |
| 6 | Other | 1 | 3.0% | |
| 7 | Common room, den, family room, living room, lounge | 1 | 3.0% | |
| 8 | Cooking area, kitchen | 1 | 3.0% | |
| 9 | Bathroom, checkroom, lavatory, locker room | 1 | 3.0% | |
| 10 | Processing/manufacturing area, workroom | 1 | 3.0% | |
| 11 | All other areas | 8 | 24.2% |
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 Swanton mix.
| # | Heat source | Count | Share | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Undetermined | 16 | 48.5% | |
| 2 | Heat source: other | 4 | 12.1% | |
| 3 | Spark, ember or flame from operating equipment | 2 | 6.1% | |
| 4 | Arcing | 2 | 6.1% | |
| 5 | Hot or smoldering object, other | 2 | 6.1% | |
| 6 | Heat from powered equipment, other | 1 | 3.0% | |
| 7 | Hot ember or ash | 1 | 3.0% | |
| 8 | Fireworks | 1 | 3.0% | |
| 9 | Cigarette | 1 | 3.0% | |
| 10 | Match | 1 | 3.0% | |
| 11 | All other sources | 2 | 6.1% |
Largest single-incident property losses reported by Swanton departments in 2025. These 2 fires alone account for 100% of the city's annual total.
| # | Property loss | Type | Severity | Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | $20,000 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
| 2 | $17,000 | Passenger vehicle fire | Significant | Investigated |
Per-capita rates let us compare apples to apples. Swanton sits above the national average for incidents per resident.
Top 25 wildfires (1992+) in the FPA-FOD ignitions database, scaled by acres. 1,428 acres burned in this 50-mile radius. Each dot is a fire — bigger dots burned more land.
| Year | Cause | Acres | Distance | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2018 | Recreation and ceremony | 547 | 25.2 mi | |
| 2001 | Natural | 80 | 35.6 mi | |
| 2020 | Equipment and vehicle use | 55 | 33.9 mi | |
| 2001 | Natural | 52 | 46.8 mi | |
| 2007 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 51 | 26.0 mi | |
| 2007 | Debris and open burning | 50 | 26.0 mi | |
| 2012 | Recreation and ceremony | 50 | 21.3 mi | |
| 1995 | Arson/incendiarism | 45 | 16.6 mi | |
| 2002 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 44 | 42.8 mi | |
| 1994 | Debris and open burning | 40 | 38.6 mi | |
| 2020 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 40 | 47.3 mi | |
| 1995 | Debris and open burning | 38 | 26.4 mi |
Top 1 ZIP codes by NFIRS incident count across 2021–2025. Each ZIP has its own fire profile — dive in for neighborhood-level context.
| # | ZIP | 5-yr incidents | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 05488 | 324 |
Six Vermont cities with population within ±25% of Swanton. Useful comparison targets — same state, similar size, different fire profile.
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.