In 2025, fire departments serving Dexter responded to 28 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 64% of all calls.
Mar peaks. Jan dips. Watch for the typical fall climb starting in October.
143 incidents 2021–2025. Peak year was 2022. $2 cumulative property loss.
| Year | Incidents | YoY | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2021 | 25 | — | |
| 2022 | 41 | +64.0% | |
| 2023 | 31 | -24.4% | |
| 2024 | 18 | -41.9% | |
| 2025 | 28 | +55.6% |
For the 5 building fires Dexter departments responded to in 2025, here's how they were classified once investigators were finished.
NFIRS Area of Origin (AREA_ORIG) for the 24 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 | 14 | 58.3% | |
| 2 | Structural area, other | 2 | 8.3% | |
| 3 | Open area - outside; included are farmland, field | 2 | 8.3% | |
| 4 | Vehicle storage area; garage, carport | 1 | 4.2% | |
| 5 | Wall surface: exterior | 1 | 4.2% | |
| 6 | Engine area, running gear, wheel area | 1 | 4.2% | |
| 7 | Outside area, other | 1 | 4.2% | |
| 8 | Courtyard, patio, porch, terrace | 1 | 4.2% | |
| 9 | Wildland, woods | 1 | 4.2% |
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 Dexter mix.
| # | Heat source | Count | Share | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Undetermined | 21 | 87.5% | |
| 2 | Heat from powered equipment, other | 1 | 4.2% | |
| 3 | Radiated heat from another fire | 1 | 4.2% | |
| 4 | Flying brand, ember, spark | 1 | 4.2% |
Largest single-incident property losses reported by Dexter departments in 2025. These 2 fires alone account for 100% of the city's annual total.
| # | Property loss | Type | Severity | Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | $1 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
| 2 | $1 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
Per-capita rates let us compare apples to apples. Dexter sits above 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 | 11.2 mi | |
| 2018 | Debris and open burning | 68 | 41.9 mi | |
| 2001 | Debris and open burning | 66 | 37.0 mi | |
| 2007 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 60 | 9.2 mi | |
| 2016 | Power generation/transmission/distribution | 39 | 48.0 mi | |
| 2001 | Arson/incendiarism | 35 | 48.6 mi | |
| 2008 | Smoking | 30 | 42.8 mi | |
| 2006 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 30 | 17.9 mi | |
| 2002 | Equipment and vehicle use | 23 | 34.2 mi | |
| 1992 | Smoking | 21 | 43.3 mi | |
| 2002 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 20 | 38.2 mi | |
| 2004 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 12 | 41.5 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 | 13634 | 143 |
Six New York cities with population within ±25% of Dexter. Useful comparison targets — same state, similar size, different fire profile.
1 departments report to NFIRS for incidents in Dexter.
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.