In 2025, fire departments serving Fort Edward responded to 60 fire and hazmat incidents — from cooking fires to gas leaks to a single $245K 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 63% of all calls.
May peaks. Apr dips. Watch for the typical fall climb starting in October.
412 incidents 2021–2025. Peak year was 2023. $290K cumulative property loss.
| Year | Incidents | YoY | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2021 | 61 | — | |
| 2022 | 93 | +52.5% | |
| 2023 | 113 | +21.5% | |
| 2024 | 85 | -24.8% | |
| 2025 | 60 | -29.4% |
For the 15 building fires Fort Edward departments responded to in 2025, here's how they were classified once investigators were finished.
NFIRS Area of Origin (AREA_ORIG) for the 45 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 | Engine area, running gear, wheel area | 14 | 31.1% | |
| 2 | Cooking area, kitchen | 3 | 6.7% | |
| 3 | Exterior balcony, unenclosed porch | 3 | 6.7% | |
| 4 | Bedroom - < 5 persons; included are jail or prison | 2 | 4.4% | |
| 5 | Vehicle storage area; garage, carport | 2 | 4.4% | |
| 6 | Equipment or service area, other | 2 | 4.4% | |
| 7 | Exterior, exposed surface | 2 | 4.4% | |
| 8 | Undetermined | 2 | 4.4% | |
| 9 | Other | 1 | 2.2% | |
| 10 | Common room, den, family room, living room, lounge | 1 | 2.2% | |
| 11 | All other areas | 13 | 28.9% |
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 Fort Edward mix.
| # | Heat source | Count | Share | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Undetermined | 10 | 22.2% | |
| 2 | Arcing | 5 | 11.1% | |
| 3 | Cigarette | 4 | 8.9% | |
| 4 | Heat from powered equipment, other | 3 | 6.7% | |
| 5 | Hot or smoldering object, other | 3 | 6.7% | |
| 6 | Cigarette lighter | 3 | 6.7% | |
| 7 | Backfire from internal combustion engine | 3 | 6.7% | |
| 8 | Heat source: other | 2 | 4.4% | |
| 9 | Radiated, conducted heat from operating equipment | 2 | 4.4% | |
| 10 | Heat, spark from friction | 2 | 4.4% | |
| 11 | All other sources | 8 | 17.8% |
Largest single-incident property losses reported by Fort Edward departments in 2025. These 1 fires alone account for 100% of the city's annual total.
| # | Property loss | Type | Severity | Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | $245,163 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
Per-capita rates let us compare apples to apples. Fort Edward sits above the national average for incidents per resident.
Top 25 wildfires (1992+) in the FPA-FOD ignitions database, scaled by acres. 2,902 acres burned in this 50-mile radius. Each dot is a fire — bigger dots burned more land.
| Year | Cause | Acres | Distance | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1998 | Smoking | 310 | 39.6 mi | |
| 2015 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 272 | 40.9 mi | |
| 1992 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 270 | 33.7 mi | |
| 2001 | Arson/incendiarism | 266 | 33.1 mi | |
| 2002 | Natural | 190 | 29.8 mi | |
| 2014 | Recreation and ceremony | 173 | 13.6 mi | |
| 2015 | Recreation and ceremony | 121 | 43.6 mi | |
| 1994 | Recreation and ceremony | 117 | 44.1 mi | |
| 1992 | Arson/incendiarism | 100 | 10.1 mi | |
| 1992 | Arson/incendiarism | 96 | 25.6 mi | |
| 2009 | Natural | 95 | 43.6 mi | |
| 2009 | Equipment and vehicle use | 83 | 12.2 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 | 12828 | 412 |
Six New York cities with population within ±25% of Fort Edward. Useful comparison targets — same state, similar size, different fire profile.
1 departments report to NFIRS for incidents in Fort Edward.
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.