In 2025, fire departments serving Tilton responded to 81 fire and hazmat incidents — from cooking fires to gas leaks to a single $400K building blaze. Here's the full picture.
Building fires lead by count. Building fires lead by dollars. Together the top five categories make up about 61% of all calls.
Feb peaks. Nov dips. Watch for the typical fall climb starting in October.
366 incidents 2021–2025. Peak year was 2021. $1.1M cumulative property loss.
| Year | Incidents | YoY | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2021 | 86 | — | |
| 2022 | 73 | -15.1% | |
| 2023 | 67 | -8.2% | |
| 2024 | 59 | -11.9% | |
| 2025 | 81 | +37.3% |
For the 25 building fires Tilton departments responded to in 2025, here's how they were classified once investigators were finished.
NFIRS Area of Origin (AREA_ORIG) for the 56 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 | Courtyard, patio, porch, terrace | 12 | 21.4% | |
| 2 | Outside area, other | 6 | 10.7% | |
| 3 | Engine area, running gear, wheel area | 4 | 7.1% | |
| 4 | Highway, parking lot, street: on or near | 4 | 7.1% | |
| 5 | Open area - outside; included are farmland, field | 4 | 7.1% | |
| 6 | Operator/passenger area of transportation equip. | 3 | 5.4% | |
| 7 | Storage room, area, tank, or bin | 2 | 3.6% | |
| 8 | Vehicle area, other | 2 | 3.6% | |
| 9 | Undetermined | 2 | 3.6% | |
| 10 | Corridor, mall | 1 | 1.8% | |
| 11 | All other areas | 16 | 28.6% |
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 Tilton mix.
| # | Heat source | Count | Share | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Undetermined | 10 | 17.9% | |
| 2 | Cigarette | 7 | 12.5% | |
| 3 | Arcing | 6 | 10.7% | |
| 4 | Hot or smoldering object, other | 6 | 10.7% | |
| 5 | Radiated, conducted heat from operating equipment | 5 | 8.9% | |
| 6 | Hot ember or ash | 4 | 7.1% | |
| 7 | Heat from undetermined smoking material | 4 | 7.1% | |
| 8 | Chemical reaction | 4 | 7.1% | |
| 9 | Spark, ember or flame from operating equipment | 3 | 5.4% | |
| 10 | Heat from other open flame or smoking materials | 3 | 5.4% | |
| 11 | All other sources | 4 | 7.1% |
Largest single-incident property losses reported by Tilton departments in 2025. These 8 fires alone account for 99% of the city's annual total.
| # | Property loss | Type | Severity | Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | $400,000 | Building fires | Major | Investigated |
| 2 | $250,000 | Building fires | Major | Investigated |
| 3 | $35,000 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
| 4 | $10,000 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
| 5 | $10,000 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
| 6 | $7,000 | Mobile property (vehicle) fire, other | Significant | Investigated |
| 7 | $5,000 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
| 8 | $5,000 | Fire in portable building, fixed location | Significant | Investigated |
Per-capita rates let us compare apples to apples. Tilton sits above the national average for incidents per resident.
Top 25 wildfires (1992+) in the FPA-FOD ignitions database, scaled by acres. 2,184 acres burned in this 50-mile radius. Each dot is a fire — bigger dots burned more land.
| Year | Cause | Acres | Distance | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2016 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 329 | 40.8 mi | |
| 2018 | Debris and open burning | 314 | 45.9 mi | |
| 2015 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 275 | 27.3 mi | |
| 2016 | Arson/incendiarism | 190 | 37.8 mi | |
| 2004 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 139 | 45.8 mi | |
| 2015 | Power generation/transmission/distribution | 137 | 45.4 mi | |
| 2012 | Debris and open burning | 120 | 49.9 mi | |
| 2015 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 92 | 1.8 mi | |
| 2017 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 72 | 41.0 mi | |
| 2015 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 59 | 17.2 mi | |
| 2008 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 54 | 26.6 mi | |
| 2016 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 50 | 25.0 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 Tilton. Useful comparison targets — same state, similar size, different fire profile.
1 departments report to NFIRS for incidents in Tilton.
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.