Fire codes

New Hampshire Fire Code & Departments

Legacy adoption vintage (2018) with a volunteer-heavy roster (182 volunteer vs 22 career departments).

NFPA Fire Code Adopted 2018

New Hampshire Fire Code (NFPA based)

New Hampshire adopts fire codes based on NFPA standards. The State Fire Marshal has statewide enforcement authority.

NFPA Fire Code · fires rank #40 of 51

New Hampshire adopts NFPA Fire Code (2018), shared by 11 of 51 states in this extract. 268 fire departments; the state ranks #40 of 51 nationally by annual fires (USFA).

  • Annual-fires rank #40 of 51 nationally
  • 11 of 51 states share this code type
  • 22 career / 182 volunteer depts
268
Fire Departments
7,470
Total Personnel
182
Volunteer Depts
22
Career Depts

Largest Fire Departments in New Hampshire

#1
Manchester Fire Department
Manchester
243 personnel
#2
City of Nashua Fire and Rescue
Nashua
185 personnel
#3
Middleton Fire and Rescue
Middleton
127 personnel
#4
Concord Fire Department
Concord
118 personnel
#5
Meadowood County Area Fire Department
Fitzwilliam
85 personnel
View all 268 departments in New Hampshire →

New Hampshire: volunteer-led legacy code desk

Legacy vintage (2018) with volunteer share 89% (182 volunteer vs 22 career among typed orgs). Rural companies often rely on the state fire marshal for plan review while the statewide floor ages in place.

Enforcement capacity is volunteer-dominant: 182 volunteer vs 22 career departments (11% career among typed orgs), with 7,470 personnel on HIFLD. In this mix, statewide code language matters most where the state fire marshal or county inspector fills gaps rural companies cannot staff full-time. Largest roster in-state: Manchester Fire Department (243 personnel, 3.3% of the state total).

USFA annual-fires rank for New Hampshire is #40 of 51 (~10,100 fires/year ; 10 fire deaths; 83 injuries). Pair that incident load with the adoption vintage above when judging how hard the code is tested in the field. Figures: HIFLD Open Data ( FEMA / U.S. Fire Administration ), USFA published statistics, and state code-adoption records in this portal's extract.

Same NFPA Fire Code family: nearest adoption peers

  • DE · adopted 2018 (same model year)
  • IA · adopted 2018 (same model year)
  • IN · adopted 2018 (same model year)
  • ME · adopted 2018 (same model year)
  • RI · adopted 2018 (same model year)
  • VT · adopted 2018 (same model year)

Frequently Asked Questions

What fire code does New Hampshire use?
New Hampshire adopts the New Hampshire Fire Code (NFPA based) (adopted 2018). New Hampshire adopts fire codes based on NFPA standards. The State Fire Marshal has statewide enforcement authority.
How many fire departments are in New Hampshire?
New Hampshire has 268 fire departments registered in the HIFLD database, including 22 career departments and 182 volunteer departments with 7,470 total personnel.
How current is New Hampshire's adopted fire code?
New Hampshire shows adoption year 2018 in this extract (legacy band, 2018 or earlier). Local amendments can still tighten sprinkler or wildland rules beyond the statewide floor.
How does New Hampshire's fire load compare nationally?
USFA ranks New Hampshire #40 of 51 by annual fires (~10,100 fires/year in this extract). Pair that load with the adoption vintage and department mix on this page, high-load states stress code enforcement differently than low-load peers on the same code family.
Data sourced from official public datasets. See our methodology for details. Retrieved and formatted by PlainFireData

Keep reading: Methodology (HIFLD + USFA join notes for this extract).