In 2025, fire departments serving Afton responded to 37 fire and hazmat incidents — from cooking fires to gas leaks to a single $25K building blaze. Here's the full picture.
Hazardous condition, other lead by count. Building fires lead by dollars. Together the top five categories make up about 84% of all calls.
Apr peaks. Jan dips. Watch for the typical fall climb starting in October.
200 incidents 2021–2025. Peak year was 2023. $96K cumulative property loss.
| Year | Incidents | YoY | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2021 | 25 | — | |
| 2022 | 53 | +112.0% | |
| 2023 | 56 | +5.7% | |
| 2024 | 29 | -48.2% | |
| 2025 | 37 | +27.6% |
For the 2 building fires Afton departments responded to in 2025, here's how they were classified once investigators were finished.
NFIRS Area of Origin (AREA_ORIG) for the 23 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 | 4 | 17.4% | |
| 2 | Undetermined | 3 | 13.0% | |
| 3 | Equipment or service area, other | 2 | 8.7% | |
| 4 | Entrance way, lobby | 1 | 4.3% | |
| 5 | Common room, den, family room, living room, lounge | 1 | 4.3% | |
| 6 | Bedroom - < 5 persons; included are jail or prison | 1 | 4.3% | |
| 7 | Cooking area, kitchen | 1 | 4.3% | |
| 8 | Bathroom, checkroom, lavatory, locker room | 1 | 4.3% | |
| 9 | Storage area, other | 1 | 4.3% | |
| 10 | Closet | 1 | 4.3% | |
| 11 | All other areas | 7 | 30.4% |
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 Afton mix.
| # | Heat source | Count | Share | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Hot or smoldering object, other | 4 | 17.4% | |
| 2 | Arcing | 3 | 13.0% | |
| 3 | Undetermined | 3 | 13.0% | |
| 4 | Heat source: other | 2 | 8.7% | |
| 5 | Heat from powered equipment, other | 2 | 8.7% | |
| 6 | Spark, ember or flame from operating equipment | 2 | 8.7% | |
| 7 | Flying brand, ember, spark | 2 | 8.7% | |
| 8 | Radiated, conducted heat from operating equipment | 1 | 4.3% | |
| 9 | Heat, spark from friction | 1 | 4.3% | |
| 10 | Hot ember or ash | 1 | 4.3% | |
| 11 | All other sources | 2 | 8.7% |
Largest single-incident property losses reported by Afton departments in 2025. These 2 fires alone account for 100% of the city's annual total.
| # | Property loss | Type | Severity | Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | $25,000 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
| 2 | $15,000 | Passenger vehicle fire | Significant | Investigated |
Per-capita rates let us compare apples to apples. Afton sits above the national average for incidents per resident.
Top 25 wildfires (1992+) in the FPA-FOD ignitions database, scaled by acres. 998 acres burned in this 50-mile radius. Each dot is a fire — bigger dots burned more land.
| Year | Cause | Acres | Distance | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1992 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 140 | 48.5 mi | |
| 2014 | Arson/incendiarism | 75 | 43.1 mi | |
| 1997 | Debris and open burning | 60 | 13.3 mi | |
| 2015 | Railroad operations and maintenance | 53 | 19.1 mi | |
| 2003 | Arson/incendiarism | 49 | 38.4 mi | |
| 1995 | Debris and open burning | 45 | 35.5 mi | |
| 1997 | Debris and open burning | 40 | 26.0 mi | |
| 1999 | Debris and open burning | 40 | 14.0 mi | |
| 1999 | Natural | 40 | 18.4 mi | |
| 1999 | Smoking | 40 | 45.1 mi | |
| 1993 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 38 | 31.2 mi | |
| 2010 | Debris and open burning | 37 | 48.4 mi |
Top 3 ZIP codes by NFIRS incident count across 2021–2025. Each ZIP has its own fire profile — dive in for neighborhood-level context.
Six New York cities with population within ±25% of Afton. Useful comparison targets — same state, similar size, different fire profile.
1 departments report to NFIRS for incidents in Afton.
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.