In 2025, fire departments serving Bay Shore responded to 161 fire and hazmat incidents . Here's the full picture.
Vehicle accident, general cleanup lead by count. Building fires lead by dollars. Together the top five categories make up about 62% of all calls.
Aug peaks. Dec dips. Watch for the typical fall climb starting in October.
1,218 incidents 2021–2025. Peak year was 2022. $15K cumulative property loss.
| Year | Incidents | YoY | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2021 | 153 | — | |
| 2022 | 332 | +117.0% | |
| 2023 | 304 | -8.4% | |
| 2024 | 268 | -11.8% | |
| 2025 | 161 | -39.9% |
For the 10 building fires Bay Shore departments responded to in 2025, here's how they were classified once investigators were finished.
NFIRS Area of Origin (AREA_ORIG) for the 6 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 | Bedroom - < 5 persons; included are jail or prison | 1 | 16.7% | |
| 2 | Laundry area, wash house (laundry) | 1 | 16.7% | |
| 3 | Closet | 1 | 16.7% | |
| 4 | Wall surface: exterior | 1 | 16.7% | |
| 5 | Highway, parking lot, street: on or near | 1 | 16.7% | |
| 6 | Courtyard, patio, porch, terrace | 1 | 16.7% |
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 Bay Shore mix.
| # | Heat source | Count | Share | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Undetermined | 2 | 33.3% | |
| 2 | Spark, ember or flame from operating equipment | 1 | 16.7% | |
| 3 | Radiated, conducted heat from operating equipment | 1 | 16.7% | |
| 4 | Hot or smoldering object, other | 1 | 16.7% | |
| 5 | Heat from other open flame or smoking materials | 1 | 16.7% |
Per-capita rates let us compare apples to apples. Bay Shore sits below the national average for incidents per resident.
Top 25 wildfires (1992+) in the FPA-FOD ignitions database, scaled by acres. 9,848 acres burned in this 50-mile radius. Each dot is a fire — bigger dots burned more land.
| Year | Cause | Acres | Distance | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1995 | Arson/incendiarism | 5,050 | 31.9 mi | |
| 1995 | Equipment and vehicle use | 1,000 | 17.1 mi | |
| 2012 | Arson/incendiarism | 992 | 24.0 mi | |
| 2013 | Recreation and ceremony | 363 | 42.4 mi | |
| 1992 | Arson/incendiarism | 250 | 17.1 mi | |
| 1992 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 200 | 43.3 mi | |
| 2012 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 190 | 43.0 mi | |
| 1995 | Arson/incendiarism | 152 | 31.9 mi | |
| 2010 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 145 | 47.9 mi | |
| 2002 | Arson/incendiarism | 125 | 3.3 mi | |
| 1995 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 100 | 48.0 mi | |
| 1996 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 100 | 48.0 mi |
Top 6 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 Bay Shore. Useful comparison targets — same state, similar size, different fire profile.
2 departments report to NFIRS for incidents in Bay Shore.
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.