In 2025, fire departments serving Peru responded to 38 fire and hazmat incidents — from cooking fires to gas leaks to a single $249K 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 68% of all calls.
Jan peaks. Oct dips. Watch for the typical fall climb starting in October.
205 incidents 2021–2025. Peak year was 2023. $1.5M cumulative property loss. 1 civilian deaths.
| Year | Incidents | YoY | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2021 | 34 | — | |
| 2022 | 27 | -20.6% | |
| 2023 | 63 | +133.3% | |
| 2024 | 43 | -31.7% | |
| 2025 | 38 | -11.6% |
For the 4 building fires Peru departments responded to in 2025, here's how they were classified once investigators were finished.
NFIRS Area of Origin (AREA_ORIG) for the 43 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 | 7 | 16.3% | |
| 2 | Other | 4 | 9.3% | |
| 3 | Structural area, other | 4 | 9.3% | |
| 4 | Engine area, running gear, wheel area | 4 | 9.3% | |
| 5 | Common room, den, family room, living room, lounge | 3 | 7.0% | |
| 6 | Undetermined | 3 | 7.0% | |
| 7 | Bathroom, checkroom, lavatory, locker room | 2 | 4.7% | |
| 8 | Vehicle storage area; garage, carport | 2 | 4.7% | |
| 9 | Exterior balcony, unenclosed porch | 2 | 4.7% | |
| 10 | Open area - outside; included are farmland, field | 2 | 4.7% | |
| 11 | All other areas | 10 | 23.3% |
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 Peru mix.
| # | Heat source | Count | Share | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Undetermined | 9 | 20.9% | |
| 2 | Arcing | 7 | 16.3% | |
| 3 | Heat from powered equipment, other | 4 | 9.3% | |
| 4 | Heat from other open flame or smoking materials | 4 | 9.3% | |
| 5 | Hot or smoldering object, other | 3 | 7.0% | |
| 6 | Heat, spark from friction | 3 | 7.0% | |
| 7 | Cigarette | 3 | 7.0% | |
| 8 | Heat source: other | 2 | 4.7% | |
| 9 | Radiated, conducted heat from operating equipment | 2 | 4.7% | |
| 10 | Candle | 2 | 4.7% | |
| 11 | All other sources | 4 | 9.3% |
Largest single-incident property losses reported by Peru departments in 2025. These 5 fires alone account for 100% of the city's annual total.
| # | Property loss | Type | Severity | Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | $249,000 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
| 2 | $90,000 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
| 3 | $50,000 | Passenger vehicle fire | Significant | Investigated |
| 4 | $15,000 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
| 5 | $1,000 | Trash or rubbish fire, contained | Significant | Investigated |
Per-capita rates let us compare apples to apples. Peru sits below the national average for incidents per resident.
Top 25 wildfires (1992+) in the FPA-FOD ignitions database, scaled by acres. 2,203 acres burned in this 50-mile radius. Each dot is a fire — bigger dots burned more land.
| Year | Cause | Acres | Distance | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2018 | Recreation and ceremony | 547 | 20.6 mi | |
| 2001 | Railroad operations and maintenance | 330 | 20.1 mi | |
| 1994 | Smoking | 106 | 32.2 mi | |
| 1999 | Recreation and ceremony | 92 | 30.5 mi | |
| 2001 | Arson/incendiarism | 82 | 43.4 mi | |
| 2001 | Natural | 80 | 9.5 mi | |
| 2001 | Railroad operations and maintenance | 77 | 20.1 mi | |
| 1994 | Smoking | 75 | 28.4 mi | |
| 2002 | Natural | 65 | 41.0 mi | |
| 2015 | Power generation/transmission/distribution | 60 | 49.0 mi | |
| 2001 | Recreation and ceremony | 60 | 20.1 mi | |
| 2020 | Equipment and vehicle use | 55 | 23.6 mi |
Top 3 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 Peru. Useful comparison targets — same state, similar size, different fire profile.
1 departments report to NFIRS for incidents in Peru.
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.