In 2025, fire departments serving Hudson Falls responded to 83 fire and hazmat incidents — from cooking fires to gas leaks to a single $250K 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 83% of all calls.
Apr peaks. Oct dips. Watch for the typical fall climb starting in October.
474 incidents 2021–2025. Peak year was 2024. $659K cumulative property loss.
| Year | Incidents | YoY | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2021* | 53 | — | |
| 2022 | 118 | — | |
| 2023 | 96 | -18.6% | |
| 2024 | 124 | +29.2% | |
| 2025 | 83 | -33.1% |
* Well below Hudson Falls's usual volume. That almost always means one or more departments didn't submit a full year to NFIRS, not that fires dropped, so no year-over-year change is shown for it.
For the 32 building fires Hudson Falls departments responded to in 2025, here's how they were classified once investigators were finished.
NFIRS Area of Origin (AREA_ORIG) for the 48 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 | 19 | 39.6% | |
| 2 | Engine area, running gear, wheel area | 7 | 14.6% | |
| 3 | Cooking area, kitchen | 4 | 8.3% | |
| 4 | Outside area, other | 3 | 6.2% | |
| 5 | Entrance way, lobby | 2 | 4.2% | |
| 6 | Function area, other | 2 | 4.2% | |
| 7 | Vehicle area, other | 2 | 4.2% | |
| 8 | Storage area, other | 1 | 2.1% | |
| 9 | Vehicle storage area; garage, carport | 1 | 2.1% | |
| 10 | Conveyor | 1 | 2.1% | |
| 11 | All other areas | 6 | 12.5% |
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 Hudson Falls mix.
| # | Heat source | Count | Share | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Undetermined | 34 | 70.8% | |
| 2 | Heat from powered equipment, other | 5 | 10.4% | |
| 3 | Arcing | 2 | 4.2% | |
| 4 | Heat source: other | 1 | 2.1% | |
| 5 | Spark, ember or flame from operating equipment | 1 | 2.1% | |
| 6 | Heat, spark from friction | 1 | 2.1% | |
| 7 | Cigarette | 1 | 2.1% | |
| 8 | Flame/torch used for lighting | 1 | 2.1% | |
| 9 | Lightning | 1 | 2.1% | |
| 10 | Radiated heat from another fire | 1 | 2.1% |
Largest single-incident property losses reported by Hudson Falls departments in 2025. These 1 fires alone account for 100% of the city's annual total.
| # | Property loss | Type | Severity | Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | $250,000 | Building fires | Major | Investigated |
Per-capita rates let us compare apples to apples. Hudson Falls sits above the national average for incidents per resident.
Top 25 wildfires (1992+) in the FPA-FOD ignitions database, scaled by acres. 2,946 acres burned in this 50-mile radius. Each dot is a fire — bigger dots burned more land.
| Year | Cause | Acres | Distance | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1998 | Smoking | 310 | 36.6 mi | |
| 2015 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 272 | 45.9 mi | |
| 1992 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 270 | 34.1 mi | |
| 2001 | Arson/incendiarism | 266 | 31.5 mi | |
| 2002 | Natural | 190 | 25.3 mi | |
| 2014 | Recreation and ceremony | 173 | 9.7 mi | |
| 2015 | Recreation and ceremony | 121 | 38.3 mi | |
| 1994 | Recreation and ceremony | 117 | 38.8 mi | |
| 1992 | Arson/incendiarism | 100 | 12.9 mi | |
| 1992 | Arson/incendiarism | 96 | 26.7 mi | |
| 2009 | Natural | 95 | 38.5 mi | |
| 2009 | Equipment and vehicle use | 83 | 12.6 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 Hudson Falls. Useful comparison targets — same state, similar size, different fire profile.
2 departments report to NFIRS for incidents in Hudson Falls.
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.