In 2025, fire departments serving North Tonawanda responded to 141 fire and hazmat incidents — from cooking fires to gas leaks to a single $150K building blaze. 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 59% of all calls.
Jul peaks. Oct dips. Watch for the typical fall climb starting in October.
718 incidents 2021–2025. Peak year was 2022. $2.7M cumulative property loss.
| Year | Incidents | YoY | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2021 | 154 | — | |
| 2022 | 170 | +10.4% | |
| 2023 | 129 | -24.1% | |
| 2024 | 124 | -3.9% | |
| 2025 | 141 | +13.7% |
For the 14 building fires North Tonawanda departments responded to in 2025, here's how they were classified once investigators were finished.
NFIRS Area of Origin (AREA_ORIG) for the 127 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 | 27 | 21.3% | |
| 2 | Cooking area, kitchen | 15 | 11.8% | |
| 3 | Outside area, other | 13 | 10.2% | |
| 4 | Other | 11 | 8.7% | |
| 5 | Engine area, running gear, wheel area | 8 | 6.3% | |
| 6 | Chute/container - trash, rubbish, waste | 5 | 3.9% | |
| 7 | Courtyard, patio, porch, terrace | 4 | 3.1% | |
| 8 | Vehicle storage area; garage, carport | 3 | 2.4% | |
| 9 | Wall assembly | 3 | 2.4% | |
| 10 | Wall surface: exterior | 3 | 2.4% | |
| 11 | All other areas | 35 | 27.6% |
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 North Tonawanda mix.
| # | Heat source | Count | Share | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Undetermined | 68 | 53.5% | |
| 2 | Heat from powered equipment, other | 11 | 8.7% | |
| 3 | Heat source: other | 10 | 7.9% | |
| 4 | Hot or smoldering object, other | 6 | 4.7% | |
| 5 | Radiated, conducted heat from operating equipment | 5 | 3.9% | |
| 6 | Arcing | 4 | 3.1% | |
| 7 | Hot ember or ash | 4 | 3.1% | |
| 8 | Fireworks | 3 | 2.4% | |
| 9 | Cigarette | 2 | 1.6% | |
| 10 | Match | 2 | 1.6% | |
| 11 | All other sources | 12 | 9.4% |
Largest single-incident property losses reported by North Tonawanda departments in 2025. These 8 fires alone account for 94% of the city's annual total.
| # | Property loss | Type | Severity | Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | $150,000 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
| 2 | $75,000 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
| 3 | $50,000 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
| 4 | $40,000 | Passenger vehicle fire | Significant | Investigated |
| 5 | $20,000 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
| 6 | $20,000 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
| 7 | $8,000 | Passenger vehicle fire | Significant | Investigated |
| 8 | $5,000 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
Per-capita rates let us compare apples to apples. North Tonawanda sits below the national average for incidents per resident.
Top 6 wildfires (1992+) in the FPA-FOD ignitions database, scaled by acres. 91 acres burned in this 50-mile radius. Each dot is a fire — bigger dots burned more land.
| Year | Cause | Acres | Distance | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1995 | Smoking | 25 | 44.8 mi | |
| 2012 | Debris and open burning | 19 | 46.7 mi | |
| 2016 | Debris and open burning | 16 | 19.9 mi | |
| 2012 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 11 | 19.9 mi | |
| 2013 | Natural | 10 | 8.1 mi | |
| 2015 | Arson/incendiarism | 10 | 9.6 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 | 14120 | 718 |
Six New York cities with population within ±25% of North Tonawanda. Useful comparison targets — same state, similar size, different fire profile.
3 departments report to NFIRS for incidents in North Tonawanda.
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.