In 2025, fire departments serving Collins responded to 27 fire and hazmat incidents — from cooking fires to gas leaks to a single $30K 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 55% of all calls.
Oct peaks. Jan dips. Watch for the typical fall climb starting in October.
114 incidents 2021–2025. Peak year was 2023. $58K cumulative property loss.
| Year | Incidents | YoY | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2021 | 23 | — | |
| 2022* | 13 | — | |
| 2023 | 32 | — | |
| 2024 | 19 | -40.6% | |
| 2025 | 27 | +42.1% |
* Well below Collins's usual volume. That almost always means one or more departments didn't submit a full year to NFIRS, not that fires dropped, so no year-over-year change is shown for it.
For the 6 building fires Collins 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 | Vehicle area, other | 2 | 18.2% | |
| 2 | Open area - outside; included are farmland, field | 2 | 18.2% | |
| 3 | Other | 1 | 9.1% | |
| 4 | Entrance way, lobby | 1 | 9.1% | |
| 5 | Storage area, other | 1 | 9.1% | |
| 6 | Structural area, other | 1 | 9.1% | |
| 7 | Engine area, running gear, wheel area | 1 | 9.1% | |
| 8 | Outside area, other | 1 | 9.1% | |
| 9 | Undetermined | 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 Collins mix.
| # | Heat source | Count | Share | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Undetermined | 4 | 36.4% | |
| 2 | Backfire from internal combustion engine | 2 | 18.2% | |
| 3 | Heat from powered equipment, other | 1 | 9.1% | |
| 4 | Heat, spark from friction | 1 | 9.1% | |
| 5 | Hot ember or ash | 1 | 9.1% | |
| 6 | Heat spread from another fire, other | 1 | 9.1% | |
| 7 | Heat from direct flame, convection currents | 1 | 9.1% |
Largest single-incident property losses reported by Collins departments in 2025. These 1 fires alone account for 100% of the city's annual total.
| # | Property loss | Type | Severity | Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | $30,000 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
Per-capita rates let us compare apples to apples. Collins sits below the national average for incidents per resident.
Top 25 wildfires (1992+) in the FPA-FOD ignitions database, scaled by acres. 861 acres burned in this 50-mile radius. Each dot is a fire — bigger dots burned more land.
| Year | Cause | Acres | Distance | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1997 | Debris and open burning | 92 | 28.2 mi | |
| 2020 | Debris and open burning | 72 | 27.6 mi | |
| 2012 | Recreation and ceremony | 64 | 46.6 mi | |
| 1992 | Equipment and vehicle use | 54 | 49.7 mi | |
| 2006 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 50 | 26.2 mi | |
| 1993 | Debris and open burning | 45 | 37.1 mi | |
| 1994 | Debris and open burning | 44 | 23.0 mi | |
| 2009 | Debris and open burning | 36 | 42.4 mi | |
| 2006 | Power generation/transmission/distribution | 33 | 44.6 mi | |
| 2014 | Arson/incendiarism | 31 | 33.5 mi | |
| 1998 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 30 | 44.0 mi | |
| 1999 | Debris and open burning | 30 | 32.9 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 Collins. Useful comparison targets — same state, similar size, different fire profile.
1 departments report to NFIRS for incidents in Collins.
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.