In 2025, fire departments serving Brownville responded to 22 fire and hazmat incidents — from cooking fires to gas leaks to a single $1 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 82% of all calls.
Mar peaks. Jan dips. Watch for the typical fall climb starting in October.
79 incidents 2021–2025. Peak year was 2025. $2 cumulative property loss.
| Year | Incidents | YoY | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2021 | 15 | — | |
| 2022 | 15 | +0.0% | |
| 2023 | 12 | -20.0% | |
| 2024 | 15 | +25.0% | |
| 2025 | 22 | +46.7% |
For the 6 building fires Brownville 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 | Outside area, other | 2 | 33.3% | |
| 2 | Undetermined | 2 | 33.3% | |
| 3 | Heating room or area, water heater area | 1 | 16.7% | |
| 4 | Substructure area or space, crawl space | 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 Brownville mix.
| # | Heat source | Count | Share | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Undetermined | 3 | 50.0% | |
| 2 | Heat from powered equipment, other | 1 | 16.7% | |
| 3 | Heat, spark from friction | 1 | 16.7% | |
| 4 | Hot ember or ash | 1 | 16.7% |
Largest single-incident property losses reported by Brownville departments in 2025. These 2 fires alone account for 100% of the city's annual total.
| # | Property loss | Type | Severity | Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | $1 | Fire, other | Significant | Investigated |
| 2 | $1 | Passenger vehicle fire | Significant | Investigated |
Per-capita rates let us compare apples to apples. Brownville sits below the national average for incidents per resident.
Top 17 wildfires (1992+) in the FPA-FOD ignitions database, scaled by acres. 532 acres burned in this 50-mile radius. Each dot is a fire — bigger dots burned more land.
| Year | Cause | Acres | Distance | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2012 | Smoking | 75 | 12.4 mi | |
| 2018 | Debris and open burning | 68 | 41.7 mi | |
| 2001 | Debris and open burning | 66 | 36.6 mi | |
| 2007 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 60 | 8.1 mi | |
| 2016 | Power generation/transmission/distribution | 39 | 49.3 mi | |
| 2001 | Arson/incendiarism | 35 | 49.7 mi | |
| 2008 | Smoking | 30 | 44.2 mi | |
| 2006 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 30 | 19.3 mi | |
| 2002 | Equipment and vehicle use | 23 | 34.4 mi | |
| 1992 | Smoking | 21 | 43.2 mi | |
| 2002 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 20 | 38.5 mi | |
| 2004 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 12 | 42.8 mi |
Top 5 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 Brownville. Useful comparison targets — same state, similar size, different fire profile.
1 departments report to NFIRS for incidents in Brownville.
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.