In 2025, fire departments serving Wolfeboro responded to 77 fire and hazmat incidents — from cooking fires to gas leaks to a single $150K 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 57% of all calls.
Mar peaks. Jan dips. Watch for the typical fall climb starting in October.
389 incidents 2021–2025. Peak year was 2021. $1.4M cumulative property loss.
| Year | Incidents | YoY | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2021 | 103 | — | |
| 2022 | 95 | -7.8% | |
| 2023 | 65 | -31.6% | |
| 2024 | 49 | -24.6% | |
| 2025 | 77 | +57.1% |
For the 16 building fires Wolfeboro departments responded to in 2025, here's how they were classified once investigators were finished.
NFIRS Area of Origin (AREA_ORIG) for the 83 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 | Cooking area, kitchen | 24 | 28.9% | |
| 2 | Undetermined | 14 | 16.9% | |
| 3 | Engine area, running gear, wheel area | 5 | 6.0% | |
| 4 | Other | 4 | 4.8% | |
| 5 | Vehicle area, other | 4 | 4.8% | |
| 6 | Heating room or area, water heater area | 3 | 3.6% | |
| 7 | Bathroom, checkroom, lavatory, locker room | 2 | 2.4% | |
| 8 | Storage area, other | 2 | 2.4% | |
| 9 | Wall surface: exterior | 2 | 2.4% | |
| 10 | Outside area, other | 2 | 2.4% | |
| 11 | All other areas | 21 | 25.3% |
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 Wolfeboro mix.
| # | Heat source | Count | Share | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Undetermined | 29 | 34.9% | |
| 2 | Heat from powered equipment, other | 21 | 25.3% | |
| 3 | Heat source: other | 12 | 14.5% | |
| 4 | Arcing | 6 | 7.2% | |
| 5 | Hot ember or ash | 4 | 4.8% | |
| 6 | Spark, ember or flame from operating equipment | 3 | 3.6% | |
| 7 | Hot or smoldering object, other | 2 | 2.4% | |
| 8 | Cigarette | 2 | 2.4% | |
| 9 | Flame/torch used for lighting | 2 | 2.4% | |
| 10 | Radiated, conducted heat from operating equipment | 1 | 1.2% | |
| 11 | All other sources | 1 | 1.2% |
Largest single-incident property losses reported by Wolfeboro departments in 2025. These 8 fires alone account for 100% of the city's annual total.
| # | Property loss | Type | Severity | Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | $150,000 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
| 2 | $79,600 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
| 3 | $73,400 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
| 4 | $48,900 | Self-propelled motor home or recreational vehicle | Significant | Investigated |
| 5 | $5,000 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
| 6 | $5,000 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
| 7 | $5,000 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
| 8 | $500 | Cooking fire, confined to container | Significant | Investigated |
Per-capita rates let us compare apples to apples. Wolfeboro sits above the national average for incidents per resident.
Top 25 wildfires (1992+) in the FPA-FOD ignitions database, scaled by acres. 2,035 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 | 27.4 mi | |
| 2018 | Debris and open burning | 314 | 29.6 mi | |
| 2015 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 275 | 12.6 mi | |
| 2001 | Misuse of fire by a minor | 236 | 46.5 mi | |
| 2004 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 139 | 31.8 mi | |
| 2015 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 92 | 22.1 mi | |
| 2017 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 72 | 42.6 mi | |
| 1995 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 60 | 37.0 mi | |
| 2015 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 59 | 35.0 mi | |
| 2008 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 54 | 35.7 mi | |
| 2016 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 50 | 5.9 mi | |
| 2016 | Arson/incendiarism | 42 | 40.6 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 Wolfeboro. Useful comparison targets — same state, similar size, different fire profile.
1 departments report to NFIRS for incidents in Wolfeboro.
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.