In 2025, fire departments serving East Syracuse responded to 66 fire and hazmat incidents — from cooking fires to gas leaks to a single $50K 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.
Apr peaks. Jul dips. Watch for the typical fall climb starting in October.
446 incidents 2021–2025. Peak year was 2023. $78K cumulative property loss.
| Year | Incidents | YoY | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2021 | 81 | — | |
| 2022 | 81 | +0.0% | |
| 2023 | 137 | +69.1% | |
| 2024 | 81 | -40.9% | |
| 2025 | 66 | -18.5% |
For the 15 building fires East Syracuse departments responded to in 2025, here's how they were classified once investigators were finished.
NFIRS Area of Origin (AREA_ORIG) for the 69 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 | 13 | 18.8% | |
| 2 | Cooking area, kitchen | 8 | 11.6% | |
| 3 | Engine area, running gear, wheel area | 7 | 10.1% | |
| 4 | Undetermined | 6 | 8.7% | |
| 5 | Outside area, other | 4 | 5.8% | |
| 6 | Entrance way, lobby | 2 | 2.9% | |
| 7 | Bathroom, checkroom, lavatory, locker room | 2 | 2.9% | |
| 8 | Chute/container - trash, rubbish, waste | 2 | 2.9% | |
| 9 | Duct: hvac, cable, exhaust, heating, or AC | 2 | 2.9% | |
| 10 | Machinery room or area; elevator machinery room | 2 | 2.9% | |
| 11 | All other areas | 21 | 30.4% |
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 East Syracuse mix.
| # | Heat source | Count | Share | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Undetermined | 27 | 39.1% | |
| 2 | Radiated, conducted heat from operating equipment | 9 | 13.0% | |
| 3 | Heat from powered equipment, other | 7 | 10.1% | |
| 4 | Heat source: other | 4 | 5.8% | |
| 5 | Spark, ember or flame from operating equipment | 4 | 5.8% | |
| 6 | Arcing | 4 | 5.8% | |
| 7 | Hot or smoldering object, other | 3 | 4.3% | |
| 8 | Heat, spark from friction | 2 | 2.9% | |
| 9 | Cigarette | 2 | 2.9% | |
| 10 | Heat from direct flame, convection currents | 2 | 2.9% | |
| 11 | All other sources | 5 | 7.2% |
Largest single-incident property losses reported by East Syracuse departments in 2025. These 3 fires alone account for 100% of the city's annual total.
| # | Property loss | Type | Severity | Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | $50,000 | Passenger vehicle fire | Significant | Investigated |
| 2 | $7,500 | Passenger vehicle fire | Significant | Investigated |
| 3 | $5,000 | Dumpster or other outside trash receptacle fire | Significant | Investigated |
Per-capita rates let us compare apples to apples. East Syracuse sits above the national average for incidents per resident.
Top 25 wildfires (1992+) in the FPA-FOD ignitions database, scaled by acres. 1,313 acres burned in this 50-mile radius. Each dot is a fire — bigger dots burned more land.
| Year | Cause | Acres | Distance | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2010 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 694 | 35.7 mi | |
| 2016 | Equipment and vehicle use | 100 | 5.5 mi | |
| 2007 | Natural | 65 | 28.7 mi | |
| 2003 | Arson/incendiarism | 49 | 38.2 mi | |
| 2010 | Debris and open burning | 31 | 44.7 mi | |
| 2008 | Smoking | 30 | 26.2 mi | |
| 2006 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 30 | 50.0 mi | |
| 2008 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 29 | 4.8 mi | |
| 2009 | Debris and open burning | 25 | 38.8 mi | |
| 1993 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 25 | 37.5 mi | |
| 1998 | Debris and open burning | 25 | 40.8 mi | |
| 2013 | Misuse of fire by a minor | 24 | 12.3 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 East Syracuse. Useful comparison targets — same state, similar size, different fire profile.
1 departments report to NFIRS for incidents in East Syracuse.
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.