In 2025, fire departments serving Windham responded to 127 fire and hazmat incidents . Here's the full picture.
Building fires lead by count. Building fires lead by dollars. Together the top five categories make up about 56% of all calls.
Aug peaks. Dec dips. Watch for the typical fall climb starting in October.
582 incidents 2021–2025. Peak year was 2021.
| Year | Incidents | YoY | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2021 | 140 | — | |
| 2022 | 111 | -20.7% | |
| 2023 | 103 | -7.2% | |
| 2024 | 101 | -1.9% | |
| 2025 | 127 | +25.7% |
For the 16 building fires Windham departments responded to in 2025, here's how they were classified once investigators were finished.
NFIRS Area of Origin (AREA_ORIG) for the 123 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 | Engine area, running gear, wheel area | 21 | 17.1% | |
| 2 | Highway, parking lot, street: on or near | 16 | 13.0% | |
| 3 | Wildland, woods | 16 | 13.0% | |
| 4 | Undetermined | 16 | 13.0% | |
| 5 | Outside area, other | 10 | 8.1% | |
| 6 | Open area - outside; included are farmland, field | 7 | 5.7% | |
| 7 | Cooking area, kitchen | 4 | 3.3% | |
| 8 | Exterior, exposed surface | 4 | 3.3% | |
| 9 | Other | 3 | 2.4% | |
| 10 | Vehicle storage area; garage, carport | 3 | 2.4% | |
| 11 | All other areas | 23 | 18.7% |
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 Windham mix.
| # | Heat source | Count | Share | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Undetermined | 55 | 44.7% | |
| 2 | Hot or smoldering object, other | 19 | 15.4% | |
| 3 | Hot ember or ash | 9 | 7.3% | |
| 4 | Heat from powered equipment, other | 7 | 5.7% | |
| 5 | Radiated, conducted heat from operating equipment | 7 | 5.7% | |
| 6 | Spark, ember or flame from operating equipment | 5 | 4.1% | |
| 7 | Arcing | 4 | 3.3% | |
| 8 | Heat, spark from friction | 4 | 3.3% | |
| 9 | Cigarette | 3 | 2.4% | |
| 10 | Fireworks | 2 | 1.6% | |
| 11 | All other sources | 8 | 6.5% |
Per-capita rates let us compare apples to apples. Windham sits above the national average for incidents per resident.
Top 25 wildfires (1992+) in the FPA-FOD ignitions database, scaled by acres. 4,054 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 | 27.6 mi | |
| 2008 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 700 | 27.6 mi | |
| 2003 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 300 | 36.8 mi | |
| 2002 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 300 | 27.6 mi | |
| 2014 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 256 | 27.7 mi | |
| 2015 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 250 | 27.5 mi | |
| 2016 | Arson/incendiarism | 190 | 43.0 mi | |
| 2007 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 186 | 19.2 mi | |
| 2016 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 172 | 27.5 mi | |
| 2004 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 120 | 48.4 mi | |
| 2015 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 92 | 46.0 mi | |
| 2014 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 90 | 27.8 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 | 03087 | 582 |
Six New Hampshire cities with population within ±25% of Windham. 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.