In 2025, fire departments serving Alden responded to 36 fire and hazmat incidents — from cooking fires to gas leaks to a single $1K building blaze. Here's the full picture.
Power line down lead by count. Building fires lead by dollars. Together the top five categories make up about 67% of all calls.
Nov peaks. Aug dips. Watch for the typical fall climb starting in October.
173 incidents 2021–2025. Peak year was 2023. $117K cumulative property loss.
| Year | Incidents | YoY | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2021 | 26 | — | |
| 2022 | 32 | +23.1% | |
| 2023 | 42 | +31.2% | |
| 2024 | 37 | -11.9% | |
| 2025 | 36 | -2.7% |
For the 6 building fires Alden departments responded to in 2025, here's how they were classified once investigators were finished.
NFIRS Area of Origin (AREA_ORIG) for the 11 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 | Processing/manufacturing area, workroom | 2 | 18.2% | |
| 2 | Exterior stairway, ramp, or fire escape | 1 | 9.1% | |
| 3 | Cooking area, kitchen | 1 | 9.1% | |
| 4 | Bathroom, checkroom, lavatory, locker room | 1 | 9.1% | |
| 5 | Vehicle storage area; garage, carport | 1 | 9.1% | |
| 6 | Duct: hvac, cable, exhaust, heating, or AC | 1 | 9.1% | |
| 7 | Vehicle area, other | 1 | 9.1% | |
| 8 | Fuel tank, fuel line | 1 | 9.1% | |
| 9 | Exterior, exposed surface | 1 | 9.1% | |
| 10 | Open area - outside; included are farmland, field | 1 | 9.1% |
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 Alden mix.
| # | Heat source | Count | Share | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Heat source: other | 2 | 18.2% | |
| 2 | Radiated, conducted heat from operating equipment | 2 | 18.2% | |
| 3 | Undetermined | 2 | 18.2% | |
| 4 | Spark, ember or flame from operating equipment | 1 | 9.1% | |
| 5 | Arcing | 1 | 9.1% | |
| 6 | Heat, spark from friction | 1 | 9.1% | |
| 7 | Molten, hot material | 1 | 9.1% | |
| 8 | Cigarette | 1 | 9.1% |
Largest single-incident property losses reported by Alden departments in 2025. These 1 fires alone account for 100% of the city's annual total.
| # | Property loss | Type | Severity | Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | $1,000 | Passenger vehicle fire | Significant | Investigated |
Per-capita rates let us compare apples to apples. Alden sits below the national average for incidents per resident.
Top 20 wildfires (1992+) in the FPA-FOD ignitions database, scaled by acres. 449 acres burned in this 50-mile radius. Each dot is a fire — bigger dots burned more land.
| Year | Cause | Acres | Distance | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2006 | Debris and open burning | 88 | 38.1 mi | |
| 2020 | Equipment and vehicle use | 48 | 45.3 mi | |
| 2020 | Debris and open burning | 42 | 41.2 mi | |
| 2010 | Debris and open burning | 40 | 46.3 mi | |
| 1995 | Smoking | 25 | 39.0 mi | |
| 1999 | Debris and open burning | 20 | 44.2 mi | |
| 1995 | Smoking | 20 | 41.5 mi | |
| 2004 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 20 | 43.2 mi | |
| 2012 | Debris and open burning | 19 | 33.3 mi | |
| 2016 | Debris and open burning | 16 | 4.6 mi | |
| 2006 | Other causes | 14 | 48.0 mi | |
| 2012 | Debris and open burning | 13 | 41.9 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 | 14004 | 173 |
Six New York cities with population within ±25% of Alden. Useful comparison targets — same state, similar size, different fire profile.
2 departments report to NFIRS for incidents in Alden.
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.