In 2025, fire departments serving New Paltz responded to 142 fire and hazmat incidents — from cooking fires to gas leaks to a single $25K building blaze. Here's the full picture.
Power line down lead by count. Building fires lead by dollars. Together the top five categories make up about 56% of all calls.
Apr peaks. Dec dips. Watch for the typical fall climb starting in October.
603 incidents 2021–2025. Peak year was 2025. $946K cumulative property loss.
| Year | Incidents | YoY | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2021 | 90 | — | |
| 2022 | 139 | +54.4% | |
| 2023 | 121 | -12.9% | |
| 2024 | 111 | -8.3% | |
| 2025 | 142 | +27.9% |
For the 4 building fires New Paltz departments responded to in 2025, here's how they were classified once investigators were finished.
NFIRS Area of Origin (AREA_ORIG) for the 88 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 | 20 | 22.7% | |
| 2 | Cooking area, kitchen | 19 | 21.6% | |
| 3 | Outside area, other | 19 | 21.6% | |
| 4 | Storage area, other | 5 | 5.7% | |
| 5 | Structural area, other | 5 | 5.7% | |
| 6 | Other | 4 | 4.5% | |
| 7 | Common room, den, family room, living room, lounge | 2 | 2.3% | |
| 8 | Bedroom - < 5 persons; included are jail or prison | 2 | 2.3% | |
| 9 | Bathroom, checkroom, lavatory, locker room | 2 | 2.3% | |
| 10 | Technical processing areas, other | 2 | 2.3% | |
| 11 | All other areas | 8 | 9.1% |
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 New Paltz mix.
| # | Heat source | Count | Share | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Heat from powered equipment, other | 33 | 37.5% | |
| 2 | Hot or smoldering object, other | 13 | 14.8% | |
| 3 | Undetermined | 8 | 9.1% | |
| 4 | Arcing | 5 | 5.7% | |
| 5 | Heat from other open flame or smoking materials | 5 | 5.7% | |
| 6 | Heat spread from another fire, other | 5 | 5.7% | |
| 7 | Heat source: other | 3 | 3.4% | |
| 8 | Match | 3 | 3.4% | |
| 9 | Fireworks | 2 | 2.3% | |
| 10 | Cigarette | 2 | 2.3% | |
| 11 | All other sources | 9 | 10.2% |
Largest single-incident property losses reported by New Paltz departments in 2025. These 8 fires alone account for 100% of the city's annual total.
| # | Property loss | Type | Severity | Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | $24,999 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
| 2 | $24,999 | Road freight or transport vehicle fire | Significant | Investigated |
| 3 | $24,999 | Mobile property (vehicle) fire, other | Significant | Investigated |
| 4 | $24,999 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
| 5 | $9,999 | Passenger vehicle fire | Significant | Investigated |
| 6 | $999 | Fires in structures other than in a building | Significant | Investigated |
| 7 | $99 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
| 8 | $99 | Road freight or transport vehicle fire | Significant | Investigated |
Per-capita rates let us compare apples to apples. New Paltz sits above the national average for incidents per resident.
Top 25 wildfires (1992+) in the FPA-FOD ignitions database, scaled by acres. 17,244 acres burned in this 50-mile radius. Each dot is a fire — bigger dots burned more land.
| Year | Cause | Acres | Distance | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2008 | Smoking | 2,855 | 8.6 mi | |
| 2015 | Debris and open burning | 2,759 | 20.5 mi | |
| 2016 | Arson/incendiarism | 2,028 | 14.7 mi | |
| 2006 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 998 | 8.6 mi | |
| 2001 | Smoking | 866 | 10.6 mi | |
| 1999 | Smoking | 700 | 27.8 mi | |
| 2016 | Recreation and ceremony | 641 | 40.4 mi | |
| 2016 | Recreation and ceremony | 552 | 36.7 mi | |
| 2001 | Smoking | 550 | 27.0 mi | |
| 2001 | Arson/incendiarism | 485 | 36.8 mi | |
| 2012 | Smoking | 481 | 33.4 mi | |
| 1999 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 468 | 27.8 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 | 12561 | 603 |
Six New York cities with population within ±25% of New Paltz. Useful comparison targets — same state, similar size, different fire profile.
1 departments report to NFIRS for incidents in New Paltz.
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.