In 2025, fire departments serving Buffalo responded to 28 fire and hazmat incidents . Here's the full picture.
Fire, other lead by count. Building fires lead by dollars. Together the top five categories make up about 82% of all calls.
Mar peaks. Jul dips. Watch for the typical fall climb starting in October.
115 incidents 2021–2025. Peak year was 2024. $17K cumulative property loss.
| Year | Incidents | YoY | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2021 | 17 | — | |
| 2022 | 20 | +17.6% | |
| 2023 | 19 | -5.0% | |
| 2024 | 31 | +63.2% | |
| 2025 | 28 | -9.7% |
For the 7 building fires Buffalo departments responded to in 2025, here's how they were classified once investigators were finished.
NFIRS Area of Origin (AREA_ORIG) for the 40 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 | Undetermined | 26 | 65.0% | |
| 2 | Equipment or service area, other | 4 | 10.0% | |
| 3 | Other | 2 | 5.0% | |
| 4 | Cooking area, kitchen | 2 | 5.0% | |
| 5 | Bathroom, checkroom, lavatory, locker room | 1 | 2.5% | |
| 6 | Laundry area, wash house (laundry) | 1 | 2.5% | |
| 7 | Storage room, area, tank, or bin | 1 | 2.5% | |
| 8 | Vehicle area, other | 1 | 2.5% | |
| 9 | Engine area, running gear, wheel area | 1 | 2.5% | |
| 10 | Construction/renovation area | 1 | 2.5% |
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 Buffalo mix.
| # | Heat source | Count | Share | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Undetermined | 28 | 70.0% | |
| 2 | Heat from powered equipment, other | 5 | 12.5% | |
| 3 | Heat source: other | 3 | 7.5% | |
| 4 | Hot or smoldering object, other | 2 | 5.0% | |
| 5 | Arcing | 1 | 2.5% | |
| 6 | Flame/torch used for lighting | 1 | 2.5% |
Per-capita rates let us compare apples to apples. Buffalo sits above the national average for incidents per resident.
Top 25 wildfires (1992+) in the FPA-FOD ignitions database, scaled by acres. 9,076 acres burned in this 50-mile radius. Each dot is a fire — bigger dots burned more land.
| Year | Cause | Acres | Distance | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2015 | Debris and open burning | 1,500 | 13.1 mi | |
| 2003 | Recreation and ceremony | 1,200 | 24.3 mi | |
| 2000 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 832 | 24.3 mi | |
| 2003 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 820 | 24.3 mi | |
| 2015 | Debris and open burning | 640 | 16.9 mi | |
| 2003 | Arson/incendiarism | 630 | 24.3 mi | |
| 2012 | Debris and open burning | 400 | 33.9 mi | |
| 1996 | Debris and open burning | 333 | 31.3 mi | |
| 2000 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 282 | 24.3 mi | |
| 2014 | Recreation and ceremony | 265 | 46.1 mi | |
| 2000 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 232 | 24.3 mi | |
| 2011 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 200 | 40.2 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 | 52728 | 115 |
Six Iowa cities with population within ±25% of Buffalo. Useful comparison targets — same state, similar size, different fire profile.
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.