In 2025, fire departments serving Oswego responded to 320 fire and hazmat incidents — from cooking fires to gas leaks to a single $170K 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 60% of all calls.
Oct peaks. Dec dips. Watch for the typical fall climb starting in October.
1,290 incidents 2021–2025. Peak year was 2025. $1.1M cumulative property loss.
| Year | Incidents | YoY | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2021 | 219 | — | |
| 2022 | 228 | +4.1% | |
| 2023 | 273 | +19.7% | |
| 2024 | 250 | -8.4% | |
| 2025 | 320 | +28.0% |
For the 57 building fires Oswego departments responded to in 2025, here's how they were classified once investigators were finished.
NFIRS Area of Origin (AREA_ORIG) for the 91 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 | Engine area, running gear, wheel area | 14 | 15.4% | |
| 2 | Cooking area, kitchen | 9 | 9.9% | |
| 3 | Undetermined | 8 | 8.8% | |
| 4 | Bedroom - < 5 persons; included are jail or prison | 6 | 6.6% | |
| 5 | Outside area, other | 6 | 6.6% | |
| 6 | Wall assembly | 5 | 5.5% | |
| 7 | Bathroom, checkroom, lavatory, locker room | 4 | 4.4% | |
| 8 | Vehicle storage area; garage, carport | 4 | 4.4% | |
| 9 | Laundry area, wash house (laundry) | 3 | 3.3% | |
| 10 | Wall surface: exterior | 3 | 3.3% | |
| 11 | All other areas | 29 | 31.9% |
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 Oswego mix.
| # | Heat source | Count | Share | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Undetermined | 22 | 24.2% | |
| 2 | Heat from powered equipment, other | 16 | 17.6% | |
| 3 | Heat source: other | 13 | 14.3% | |
| 4 | Arcing | 9 | 9.9% | |
| 5 | Hot ember or ash | 7 | 7.7% | |
| 6 | Radiated, conducted heat from operating equipment | 5 | 5.5% | |
| 7 | Spark, ember or flame from operating equipment | 4 | 4.4% | |
| 8 | Cigarette lighter | 4 | 4.4% | |
| 9 | Hot or smoldering object, other | 3 | 3.3% | |
| 10 | Heat from other open flame or smoking materials | 2 | 2.2% | |
| 11 | All other sources | 6 | 6.6% |
Largest single-incident property losses reported by Oswego departments in 2025. These 8 fires alone account for 100% of the city's annual total.
| # | Property loss | Type | Severity | Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | $170,000 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
| 2 | $50,000 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
| 3 | $15,000 | Passenger vehicle fire | Significant | Investigated |
| 4 | $8,000 | Passenger vehicle fire | Significant | Investigated |
| 5 | $5,000 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
| 6 | $5,000 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
| 7 | $1,000 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
| 8 | $50 | Outside rubbish, trash or waste fire | Significant | Investigated |
Per-capita rates let us compare apples to apples. Oswego sits above the national average for incidents per resident.
Top 16 wildfires (1992+) in the FPA-FOD ignitions database, scaled by acres. 1,153 acres burned in this 50-mile radius. Each dot is a fire — bigger dots burned more land.
| Year | Cause | Acres | Distance | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2010 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 694 | 34.9 mi | |
| 2016 | Equipment and vehicle use | 100 | 37.6 mi | |
| 2012 | Smoking | 75 | 34.6 mi | |
| 2007 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 60 | 46.8 mi | |
| 2008 | Smoking | 30 | 32.8 mi | |
| 2006 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 30 | 37.7 mi | |
| 2008 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 29 | 38.4 mi | |
| 2013 | Misuse of fire by a minor | 24 | 44.4 mi | |
| 2018 | Equipment and vehicle use | 23 | 32.4 mi | |
| 2006 | Debris and open burning | 21 | 32.2 mi | |
| 2012 | Smoking | 13 | 41.5 mi | |
| 2004 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 12 | 22.0 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 | 13126 | 1,290 |
Six New York cities with population within ±25% of Oswego. Useful comparison targets — same state, similar size, different fire profile.
2 departments report to NFIRS for incidents in Oswego.
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.