In 2025, fire departments serving Horseheads responded to 167 fire and hazmat incidents — from cooking fires to gas leaks to a single $200K building blaze. Here's the full picture.
Gas leak (natural gas or LPG) lead by count. Building fires lead by dollars. Together the top five categories make up about 56% of all calls.
Mar peaks. Nov dips. Watch for the typical fall climb starting in October.
739 incidents 2021–2025. Peak year was 2022. $1.3M cumulative property loss.
| Year | Incidents | YoY | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2021 | 130 | — | |
| 2022 | 175 | +34.6% | |
| 2023 | 112 | -36.0% | |
| 2024 | 155 | +38.4% | |
| 2025 | 167 | +7.7% |
For the 18 building fires Horseheads departments responded to in 2025, here's how they were classified once investigators were finished.
NFIRS Area of Origin (AREA_ORIG) for the 93 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 | 19 | 20.4% | |
| 2 | Highway, parking lot, street: on or near | 13 | 14.0% | |
| 3 | Undetermined | 8 | 8.6% | |
| 4 | Cooking area, kitchen | 5 | 5.4% | |
| 5 | Vehicle storage area; garage, carport | 4 | 4.3% | |
| 6 | Other | 3 | 3.2% | |
| 7 | Storage area, other | 3 | 3.2% | |
| 8 | Operator/passenger area of transportation equip. | 3 | 3.2% | |
| 9 | Cargo/trunk area - all vehicles | 3 | 3.2% | |
| 10 | Outside area, other | 3 | 3.2% | |
| 11 | All other areas | 29 | 31.2% |
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 Horseheads mix.
| # | Heat source | Count | Share | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Undetermined | 33 | 35.5% | |
| 2 | Arcing | 15 | 16.1% | |
| 3 | Radiated, conducted heat from operating equipment | 14 | 15.1% | |
| 4 | Heat from powered equipment, other | 7 | 7.5% | |
| 5 | Hot or smoldering object, other | 4 | 4.3% | |
| 6 | Hot ember or ash | 4 | 4.3% | |
| 7 | Heat source: other | 3 | 3.2% | |
| 8 | Heat, spark from friction | 3 | 3.2% | |
| 9 | Radiated heat from another fire | 3 | 3.2% | |
| 10 | Cigarette lighter | 2 | 2.2% | |
| 11 | All other sources | 5 | 5.4% |
Largest single-incident property losses reported by Horseheads departments in 2025. These 8 fires alone account for 98% of the city's annual total.
| # | Property loss | Type | Severity | Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | $200,000 | Off-road vehicle or heavy equipment fire | Significant | Investigated |
| 2 | $120,000 | Road freight or transport vehicle fire | Significant | Investigated |
| 3 | $80,000 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
| 4 | $80,000 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
| 5 | $40,000 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
| 6 | $6,000 | Camper or recreational vehicle (RV) fire | Significant | Investigated |
| 7 | $5,000 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
| 8 | $3,300 | Passenger vehicle fire | Significant | Investigated |
Per-capita rates let us compare apples to apples. Horseheads sits above the national average for incidents per resident.
Top 25 wildfires (1992+) in the FPA-FOD ignitions database, scaled by acres. 1,793 acres burned in this 50-mile radius. Each dot is a fire — bigger dots burned more land.
| Year | Cause | Acres | Distance | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2010 | Natural | 161 | 45.4 mi | |
| 1999 | Arson/incendiarism | 150 | 39.3 mi | |
| 1995 | Arson/incendiarism | 130 | 25.1 mi | |
| 1999 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 130 | 26.0 mi | |
| 2005 | Smoking | 120 | 46.9 mi | |
| 2015 | Debris and open burning | 95 | 31.9 mi | |
| 2015 | Arson/incendiarism | 93 | 44.0 mi | |
| 1999 | Debris and open burning | 85 | 16.2 mi | |
| 2016 | Debris and open burning | 73 | 22.8 mi | |
| 2009 | Smoking | 62 | 46.4 mi | |
| 1999 | Debris and open burning | 60 | 31.5 mi | |
| 2015 | Railroad operations and maintenance | 53 | 46.8 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 Horseheads. Useful comparison targets — same state, similar size, different fire profile.
3 departments report to NFIRS for incidents in Horseheads.
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.