In 2025, fire departments serving Middleburgh responded to 19 fire and hazmat incidents . 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 63% of all calls.
Mar peaks. Jan dips. Watch for the typical fall climb starting in October.
120 incidents 2021–2025. Peak year was 2023. $42K cumulative property loss.
| Year | Incidents | YoY | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2021 | 20 | — | |
| 2022 | 26 | +30.0% | |
| 2023 | 33 | +26.9% | |
| 2024 | 22 | -33.3% | |
| 2025 | 19 | -13.6% |
For the 1 building fires Middleburgh departments responded to in 2025, here's how they were classified once investigators were finished.
NFIRS Area of Origin (AREA_ORIG) for the 34 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 | Vehicle area, other | 5 | 14.7% | |
| 2 | Outside area, other | 5 | 14.7% | |
| 3 | Cooking area, kitchen | 3 | 8.8% | |
| 4 | Service facilities, other | 3 | 8.8% | |
| 5 | Heating room or area, water heater area | 3 | 8.8% | |
| 6 | Undetermined | 3 | 8.8% | |
| 7 | Function area, other | 2 | 5.9% | |
| 8 | Chimney (conversion only) | 2 | 5.9% | |
| 9 | Cargo/trunk area - all vehicles | 2 | 5.9% | |
| 10 | Engine area, running gear, wheel area | 2 | 5.9% | |
| 11 | All other areas | 4 | 11.8% |
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 Middleburgh mix.
| # | Heat source | Count | Share | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Arcing | 11 | 32.4% | |
| 2 | Hot or smoldering object, other | 8 | 23.5% | |
| 3 | Undetermined | 5 | 14.7% | |
| 4 | Heat from powered equipment, other | 3 | 8.8% | |
| 5 | Heat source: other | 2 | 5.9% | |
| 6 | Hot ember or ash | 1 | 2.9% | |
| 7 | Heat from other open flame or smoking materials | 1 | 2.9% | |
| 8 | Cigarette | 1 | 2.9% | |
| 9 | Heat spread from another fire, other | 1 | 2.9% | |
| 10 | Multiple heat sources including multiple ignitions | 1 | 2.9% |
Per-capita rates let us compare apples to apples. Middleburgh sits below the national average for incidents per resident.
Top 25 wildfires (1992+) in the FPA-FOD ignitions database, scaled by acres. 1,863 acres burned in this 50-mile radius. Each dot is a fire — bigger dots burned more land.
| Year | Cause | Acres | Distance | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2001 | Arson/incendiarism | 266 | 48.7 mi | |
| 2015 | Power generation/transmission/distribution | 146 | 33.0 mi | |
| 1992 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 140 | 41.4 mi | |
| 1992 | Arson/incendiarism | 100 | 48.0 mi | |
| 1992 | Arson/incendiarism | 96 | 37.9 mi | |
| 1993 | Equipment and vehicle use | 90 | 26.3 mi | |
| 1999 | Debris and open burning | 80 | 19.8 mi | |
| 2004 | Debris and open burning | 73 | 48.2 mi | |
| 1999 | Natural | 70 | 45.1 mi | |
| 1999 | Arson/incendiarism | 65 | 28.5 mi | |
| 2009 | Recreation and ceremony | 63 | 49.3 mi | |
| 2019 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 58 | 23.0 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 | 12122 | 120 |
Six New York cities with population within ±25% of Middleburgh. Useful comparison targets — same state, similar size, different fire profile.
3 departments report to NFIRS for incidents in Middleburgh.
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.