In 2025, fire departments serving Ogdensburg responded to 113 fire and hazmat incidents — from cooking fires to gas leaks to a single $10K building blaze. Here's the full picture.
Unauthorized burning lead by count. Building fires lead by dollars. Together the top five categories make up about 62% of all calls.
Feb peaks. Dec dips. Watch for the typical fall climb starting in October.
522 incidents 2021–2025. Peak year was 2022. $2.4M cumulative property loss. 1 civilian deaths.
| Year | Incidents | YoY | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2021 | 91 | — | |
| 2022 | 131 | +44.0% | |
| 2023 | 71 | -45.8% | |
| 2024 | 116 | +63.4% | |
| 2025 | 113 | -2.6% |
For the 7 building fires Ogdensburg departments responded to in 2025, here's how they were classified once investigators were finished.
NFIRS Area of Origin (AREA_ORIG) for the 56 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 | Cooking area, kitchen | 10 | 17.9% | |
| 2 | Bedroom - < 5 persons; included are jail or prison | 4 | 7.1% | |
| 3 | Engine area, running gear, wheel area | 4 | 7.1% | |
| 4 | Other | 3 | 5.4% | |
| 5 | Vehicle storage area; garage, carport | 3 | 5.4% | |
| 6 | Wall surface: exterior | 3 | 5.4% | |
| 7 | Exterior, exposed surface | 3 | 5.4% | |
| 8 | Undetermined | 3 | 5.4% | |
| 9 | Common room, den, family room, living room, lounge | 2 | 3.6% | |
| 10 | Storage: supplies or tools; dead storage | 2 | 3.6% | |
| 11 | All other areas | 19 | 33.9% |
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 Ogdensburg mix.
| # | Heat source | Count | Share | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Undetermined | 10 | 17.9% | |
| 2 | Arcing | 7 | 12.5% | |
| 3 | Heat from powered equipment, other | 5 | 8.9% | |
| 4 | Spark, ember or flame from operating equipment | 4 | 7.1% | |
| 5 | Radiated, conducted heat from operating equipment | 4 | 7.1% | |
| 6 | Hot ember or ash | 4 | 7.1% | |
| 7 | Heat from direct flame, convection currents | 4 | 7.1% | |
| 8 | Cigarette | 3 | 5.4% | |
| 9 | Chemical reaction | 3 | 5.4% | |
| 10 | Radiated heat from another fire | 3 | 5.4% | |
| 11 | All other sources | 9 | 16.1% |
Largest single-incident property losses reported by Ogdensburg departments in 2025. These 3 fires alone account for 100% of the city's annual total.
| # | Property loss | Type | Severity | Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | $10,000 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
| 2 | $5,000 | Water vehicle fire | Significant | Investigated |
| 3 | $1,000 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
Per-capita rates let us compare apples to apples. Ogdensburg sits above the national average for incidents per resident.
Top 25 wildfires (1992+) in the FPA-FOD ignitions database, scaled by acres. 1,033 acres burned in this 50-mile radius. Each dot is a fire — bigger dots burned more land.
| Year | Cause | Acres | Distance | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1994 | Smoking | 255 | 38.1 mi | |
| 1992 | Arson/incendiarism | 190 | 42.2 mi | |
| 2003 | Debris and open burning | 76 | 21.3 mi | |
| 2018 | Debris and open burning | 68 | 28.7 mi | |
| 2001 | Debris and open burning | 66 | 23.6 mi | |
| 2007 | Smoking | 36 | 26.0 mi | |
| 1997 | Arson/incendiarism | 35 | 21.3 mi | |
| 2005 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 32 | 44.6 mi | |
| 2012 | Debris and open burning | 32 | 43.8 mi | |
| 2011 | Arson/incendiarism | 29 | 30.6 mi | |
| 2002 | Equipment and vehicle use | 23 | 41.9 mi | |
| 1992 | Smoking | 21 | 30.2 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 Ogdensburg. Useful comparison targets — same state, similar size, different fire profile.
1 departments report to NFIRS for incidents in Ogdensburg.
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.