In 2025, fire departments serving Homer responded to 51 fire and hazmat incidents . Here's the full picture.
Power line down lead by count. Building fires lead by dollars. Together the top five categories make up about 84% of all calls.
Mar peaks. Dec dips. Watch for the typical fall climb starting in October.
252 incidents 2021–2025. Peak year was 2024. $160K cumulative property loss.
| Year | Incidents | YoY | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2021 | 39 | — | |
| 2022 | 55 | +41.0% | |
| 2023 | 47 | -14.5% | |
| 2024 | 60 | +27.7% | |
| 2025 | 51 | -15.0% |
For the 1 building fires Homer departments responded to in 2025, here's how they were classified once investigators were finished.
NFIRS Area of Origin (AREA_ORIG) for the 12 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 | 3 | 25.0% | |
| 2 | Wall assembly | 2 | 16.7% | |
| 3 | Cooking area, kitchen | 1 | 8.3% | |
| 4 | Bathroom, checkroom, lavatory, locker room | 1 | 8.3% | |
| 5 | Vehicle storage area; garage, carport | 1 | 8.3% | |
| 6 | Duct: hvac, cable, exhaust, heating, or AC | 1 | 8.3% | |
| 7 | Ceiling & floor assembly, crawl space b/t stories | 1 | 8.3% | |
| 8 | Vehicle area, other | 1 | 8.3% | |
| 9 | Undetermined | 1 | 8.3% |
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 Homer mix.
| # | Heat source | Count | Share | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Undetermined | 5 | 41.7% | |
| 2 | Arcing | 3 | 25.0% | |
| 3 | Conducted heat from another fire | 2 | 16.7% | |
| 4 | Heat, spark from friction | 1 | 8.3% | |
| 5 | Heat from direct flame, convection currents | 1 | 8.3% |
Per-capita rates let us compare apples to apples. Homer sits above the national average for incidents per resident.
Top 25 wildfires (1992+) in the FPA-FOD ignitions database, scaled by acres. 1,595 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 | 37.5 mi | |
| 2016 | Equipment and vehicle use | 100 | 30.2 mi | |
| 1999 | Debris and open burning | 85 | 43.7 mi | |
| 1997 | Debris and open burning | 60 | 49.1 mi | |
| 2015 | Railroad operations and maintenance | 53 | 38.9 mi | |
| 1994 | Debris and open burning | 50 | 37.7 mi | |
| 2003 | Arson/incendiarism | 49 | 10.4 mi | |
| 1997 | Debris and open burning | 40 | 33.0 mi | |
| 1999 | Debris and open burning | 40 | 31.5 mi | |
| 2010 | Debris and open burning | 37 | 45.3 mi | |
| 2010 | Debris and open burning | 31 | 17.9 mi | |
| 1999 | Debris and open burning | 30 | 49.7 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 | 13077 | 252 |
Six New York cities with population within ±25% of Homer. Useful comparison targets — same state, similar size, different fire profile.
2 departments report to NFIRS for incidents in Homer.
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.