In 2025, fire departments serving Weston responded to 97 fire and hazmat incidents — from cooking fires to gas leaks to a single $15K building blaze. Here's the full picture.
Arcing, shorted electrical equipment lead by count. Building fires lead by dollars. Together the top five categories make up about 66% of all calls.
Jul peaks. Nov dips. Watch for the typical fall climb starting in October.
487 incidents 2021–2025. Peak year was 2024. $4.5M cumulative property loss.
| Year | Incidents | YoY | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2021 | 87 | — | |
| 2022 | 74 | -14.9% | |
| 2023 | 102 | +37.8% | |
| 2024 | 127 | +24.5% | |
| 2025 | 97 | -23.6% |
For the 2 building fires Weston departments responded to in 2025, here's how they were classified once investigators were finished.
NFIRS Area of Origin (AREA_ORIG) for the 65 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 | 12 | 18.5% | |
| 2 | Open area - outside; included are farmland, field | 11 | 16.9% | |
| 3 | Wildland, woods | 8 | 12.3% | |
| 4 | Undetermined | 6 | 9.2% | |
| 5 | Vehicle storage area; garage, carport | 4 | 6.2% | |
| 6 | Vehicle area, other | 4 | 6.2% | |
| 7 | Engine area, running gear, wheel area | 4 | 6.2% | |
| 8 | Cooking area, kitchen | 3 | 4.6% | |
| 9 | Ceiling & floor assembly, crawl space b/t stories | 3 | 4.6% | |
| 10 | Roof surface: exterior | 2 | 3.1% | |
| 11 | All other areas | 8 | 12.3% |
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 Weston mix.
| # | Heat source | Count | Share | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Undetermined | 19 | 29.2% | |
| 2 | Spark, ember or flame from operating equipment | 9 | 13.8% | |
| 3 | Hot ember or ash | 8 | 12.3% | |
| 4 | Arcing | 6 | 9.2% | |
| 5 | Heat from powered equipment, other | 4 | 6.2% | |
| 6 | Radiated heat from another fire | 4 | 6.2% | |
| 7 | Hot or smoldering object, other | 3 | 4.6% | |
| 8 | Match | 3 | 4.6% | |
| 9 | Lightning | 2 | 3.1% | |
| 10 | Heat source: other | 1 | 1.5% | |
| 11 | All other sources | 6 | 9.2% |
Largest single-incident property losses reported by Weston departments in 2025. These 5 fires alone account for 100% of the city's annual total.
| # | Property loss | Type | Severity | Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | $15,000 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
| 2 | $10,000 | Fire, other | Significant | Investigated |
| 3 | $1,500 | Brush, or brush and grass mixture fire | Significant | Investigated |
| 4 | $1,500 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
| 5 | $1,500 | Self-propelled motor home or recreational vehicle | Significant | Investigated |
Per-capita rates let us compare apples to apples. Weston sits above the national average for incidents per resident.
Top 25 wildfires (1992+) in the FPA-FOD ignitions database, scaled by acres. 15,818 acres burned in this 50-mile radius. Each dot is a fire — bigger dots burned more land.
| Year | Cause | Acres | Distance | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1995 | Arson/incendiarism | 5,050 | 39.3 mi | |
| 2008 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 1,300 | 42.3 mi | |
| 1995 | Equipment and vehicle use | 1,000 | 34.0 mi | |
| 2012 | Arson/incendiarism | 992 | 35.9 mi | |
| 1999 | Smoking | 700 | 34.4 mi | |
| 2016 | Recreation and ceremony | 641 | 37.6 mi | |
| 2016 | Recreation and ceremony | 552 | 39.6 mi | |
| 2001 | Smoking | 550 | 34.7 mi | |
| 2001 | Arson/incendiarism | 485 | 41.6 mi | |
| 2012 | Smoking | 481 | 33.5 mi | |
| 1999 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 468 | 34.4 mi | |
| 1999 | Recreation and ceremony | 410 | 33.1 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 | 06883 | 487 |
Six Connecticut cities with population within ±25% of Weston. 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.