In 2025, fire departments serving Cornwall responded to 26 fire and hazmat incidents — from cooking fires to gas leaks to a single $25K 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 81% of all calls.
Mar peaks. Jun dips. Watch for the typical fall climb starting in October.
196 incidents 2021–2025. Peak year was 2023. $47K cumulative property loss.
| Year | Incidents | YoY | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2021 | 29 | — | |
| 2022 | 43 | +48.3% | |
| 2023 | 50 | +16.3% | |
| 2024 | 48 | -4.0% | |
| 2025 | 26 | -45.8% |
For the 2 building fires Cornwall departments responded to in 2025, here's how they were classified once investigators were finished.
NFIRS Area of Origin (AREA_ORIG) for the 7 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 | Cooking area, kitchen | 1 | 14.3% | |
| 2 | Laundry area, wash house (laundry) | 1 | 14.3% | |
| 3 | Heating room or area, water heater area | 1 | 14.3% | |
| 4 | Exterior balcony, unenclosed porch | 1 | 14.3% | |
| 5 | Cargo/trunk area - all vehicles | 1 | 14.3% | |
| 6 | Engine area, running gear, wheel area | 1 | 14.3% | |
| 7 | Wildland, woods | 1 | 14.3% |
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 Cornwall mix.
| # | Heat source | Count | Share | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Undetermined | 4 | 57.1% | |
| 2 | Radiated, conducted heat from operating equipment | 1 | 14.3% | |
| 3 | Arcing | 1 | 14.3% | |
| 4 | Hot ember or ash | 1 | 14.3% |
Largest single-incident property losses reported by Cornwall departments in 2025. These 4 fires alone account for 100% of the city's annual total.
| # | Property loss | Type | Severity | Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | $25,000 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
| 2 | $20,000 | Road freight or transport vehicle fire | Significant | Investigated |
| 3 | $1,000 | Electrical wiring/equipment problem, other | Significant | Investigated |
| 4 | $1,000 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
Per-capita rates let us compare apples to apples. Cornwall sits below the national average for incidents per resident.
Top 25 wildfires (1992+) in the FPA-FOD ignitions database, scaled by acres. 17,709 acres burned in this 50-mile radius. Each dot is a fire — bigger dots burned more land.
| Year | Cause | Acres | Distance | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2008 | Smoking | 2,855 | 28.9 mi | |
| 2015 | Debris and open burning | 2,759 | 23.9 mi | |
| 2016 | Arson/incendiarism | 2,028 | 23.4 mi | |
| 2006 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 998 | 28.9 mi | |
| 2001 | Smoking | 866 | 29.6 mi | |
| 1999 | Smoking | 700 | 4.7 mi | |
| 2016 | Recreation and ceremony | 641 | 17.2 mi | |
| 2016 | Recreation and ceremony | 552 | 14.0 mi | |
| 2001 | Smoking | 550 | 30.8 mi | |
| 1994 | Smoking | 500 | 40.5 mi | |
| 2001 | Arson/incendiarism | 485 | 14.6 mi | |
| 2012 | Smoking | 481 | 10.0 mi |
Top 4 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 Cornwall. Useful comparison targets — same state, similar size, different fire profile.
1 departments report to NFIRS for incidents in Cornwall.
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.