In 2025, fire departments serving Lake Luzerne responded to 24 fire and hazmat incidents . Here's the full picture.
Vehicle accident, general cleanup lead by count. Building fires lead by dollars. Together the top five categories make up about 63% of all calls.
Mar peaks. Aug dips. Watch for the typical fall climb starting in October.
183 incidents 2021–2025. Peak year was 2023.
| Year | Incidents | YoY | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2021 | 24 | — | |
| 2022 | 54 | +125.0% | |
| 2023 | 55 | +1.9% | |
| 2024 | 26 | -52.7% | |
| 2025 | 24 | -7.7% |
For the 3 building fires Lake Luzerne departments responded to in 2025, here's how they were classified once investigators were finished.
NFIRS Area of Origin (AREA_ORIG) for the 8 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 | 4 | 50.0% | |
| 2 | Other | 1 | 12.5% | |
| 3 | Storage area, other | 1 | 12.5% | |
| 4 | Vehicle area, other | 1 | 12.5% | |
| 5 | Outside area, other | 1 | 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 Lake Luzerne mix.
| # | Heat source | Count | Share | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Undetermined | 5 | 62.5% | |
| 2 | Hot or smoldering object, other | 2 | 25.0% | |
| 3 | Heat source: other | 1 | 12.5% |
Per-capita rates let us compare apples to apples. Lake Luzerne sits above the national average for incidents per resident.
Top 25 wildfires (1992+) in the FPA-FOD ignitions database, scaled by acres. 2,727 acres burned in this 50-mile radius. Each dot is a fire — bigger dots burned more land.
| Year | Cause | Acres | Distance | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1998 | Smoking | 310 | 25.7 mi | |
| 1992 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 270 | 45.1 mi | |
| 2001 | Arson/incendiarism | 266 | 20.5 mi | |
| 2002 | Natural | 190 | 17.6 mi | |
| 2014 | Recreation and ceremony | 173 | 3.7 mi | |
| 2015 | Recreation and ceremony | 121 | 37.5 mi | |
| 1994 | Recreation and ceremony | 117 | 36.2 mi | |
| 1992 | Arson/incendiarism | 100 | 12.7 mi | |
| 1992 | Arson/incendiarism | 96 | 18.9 mi | |
| 2009 | Natural | 95 | 32.7 mi | |
| 2009 | Equipment and vehicle use | 83 | 23.8 mi | |
| 2001 | Arson/incendiarism | 82 | 45.5 mi |
Top 2 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 Lake Luzerne. Useful comparison targets — same state, similar size, different fire profile.
1 departments report to NFIRS for incidents in Lake Luzerne.
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.