In 2025, fire departments serving Ithaca responded to 60 fire and hazmat incidents — from cooking fires to gas leaks to a single $350K 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 53% of all calls.
Nov peaks. Feb dips. Watch for the typical fall climb starting in October.
265 incidents 2021–2025. Peak year was 2024. $2.5M cumulative property loss.
| Year | Incidents | YoY | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2021 | 45 | — | |
| 2022 | 40 | -11.1% | |
| 2023 | 59 | +47.5% | |
| 2024 | 61 | +3.4% | |
| 2025 | 60 | -1.6% |
For the 12 building fires Ithaca departments responded to in 2025, here's how they were classified once investigators were finished.
NFIRS Area of Origin (AREA_ORIG) for the 85 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 | 22.4% | |
| 2 | Engine area, running gear, wheel area | 14 | 16.5% | |
| 3 | Other | 6 | 7.1% | |
| 4 | Outside area, other | 5 | 5.9% | |
| 5 | Storage area, other | 3 | 3.5% | |
| 6 | Equipment or service area, other | 3 | 3.5% | |
| 7 | Vehicle area, other | 3 | 3.5% | |
| 8 | Operator/passenger area of transportation equip. | 3 | 3.5% | |
| 9 | Open area - outside; included are farmland, field | 3 | 3.5% | |
| 10 | Wildland, woods | 3 | 3.5% | |
| 11 | All other areas | 23 | 27.1% |
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 Ithaca mix.
| # | Heat source | Count | Share | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Undetermined | 40 | 47.1% | |
| 2 | Radiated, conducted heat from operating equipment | 10 | 11.8% | |
| 3 | Hot or smoldering object, other | 7 | 8.2% | |
| 4 | Hot ember or ash | 6 | 7.1% | |
| 5 | Heat from powered equipment, other | 4 | 4.7% | |
| 6 | Heat, spark from friction | 4 | 4.7% | |
| 7 | Flying brand, ember, spark | 3 | 3.5% | |
| 8 | Spark, ember or flame from operating equipment | 2 | 2.4% | |
| 9 | Arcing | 2 | 2.4% | |
| 10 | Heat spread from another fire, other | 2 | 2.4% | |
| 11 | All other sources | 5 | 5.9% |
Largest single-incident property losses reported by Ithaca departments in 2025. These 8 fires alone account for 99% of the city's annual total.
| # | Property loss | Type | Severity | Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | $350,000 | Building fires | Major | Investigated |
| 2 | $100,000 | Passenger vehicle fire | Significant | Investigated |
| 3 | $30,000 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
| 4 | $27,000 | Self-propelled motor home or recreational vehicle | Significant | Investigated |
| 5 | $16,000 | Passenger vehicle fire | Significant | Investigated |
| 6 | $12,000 | Off-road vehicle or heavy equipment fire | Significant | Investigated |
| 7 | $10,000 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
| 8 | $6,000 | Passenger vehicle fire | Significant | Investigated |
Per-capita rates let us compare apples to apples. Ithaca sits above the national average for incidents per resident.
Top 25 wildfires (1992+) in the FPA-FOD ignitions database, scaled by acres. 2,350 acres burned in this 50-mile radius. Each dot is a fire — bigger dots burned more land.
| Year | Cause | Acres | Distance | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2012 | Arson/incendiarism | 335 | 49.8 mi | |
| 2003 | Debris and open burning | 191 | 21.9 mi | |
| 2004 | Natural | 186 | 39.6 mi | |
| 2003 | Recreation and ceremony | 155 | 31.0 mi | |
| 1994 | Arson/incendiarism | 150 | 38.5 mi | |
| 2020 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 143 | 48.9 mi | |
| 1994 | Debris and open burning | 100 | 36.4 mi | |
| 2003 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 92 | 20.7 mi | |
| 1996 | Debris and open burning | 80 | 33.6 mi | |
| 2003 | Equipment and vehicle use | 70 | 46.8 mi | |
| 1994 | Arson/incendiarism | 70 | 21.2 mi | |
| 2005 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 62 | 45.2 mi |
Top 5 ZIP codes by NFIRS incident count across 2021–2025. Each ZIP has its own fire profile — dive in for neighborhood-level context.
Six Michigan cities with population within ±25% of Ithaca. Useful comparison targets — same state, similar size, different fire profile.
1 departments report to NFIRS for incidents in Ithaca.
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.