In 2025, fire departments serving Phelps responded to 87 fire and hazmat incidents — from cooking fires to gas leaks to a single $2K building blaze. Here's the full picture.
Hazardous condition, other lead by count. Building fires lead by dollars. Together the top five categories make up about 77% of all calls.
Mar peaks. Dec dips. Watch for the typical fall climb starting in October.
413 incidents 2021–2025. Peak year was 2024. $2.4M cumulative property loss.
| Year | Incidents | YoY | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2021 | 88 | — | |
| 2022 | 80 | -9.1% | |
| 2023 | 68 | -15.0% | |
| 2024 | 90 | +32.4% | |
| 2025 | 87 | -3.3% |
For the 9 building fires Phelps departments responded to in 2025, here's how they were classified once investigators were finished.
NFIRS Area of Origin (AREA_ORIG) for the 51 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 | 15 | 29.4% | |
| 2 | Other | 6 | 11.8% | |
| 3 | Cooking area, kitchen | 3 | 5.9% | |
| 4 | Storage area, other | 2 | 3.9% | |
| 5 | Equipment or service area, other | 2 | 3.9% | |
| 6 | Maintenance shop or area, paint shop or area | 2 | 3.9% | |
| 7 | Ceiling & floor assembly, crawl space b/t stories | 2 | 3.9% | |
| 8 | Vehicle area, other | 2 | 3.9% | |
| 9 | Operator/passenger area of transportation equip. | 2 | 3.9% | |
| 10 | Cargo/trunk area - all vehicles | 2 | 3.9% | |
| 11 | All other areas | 13 | 25.5% |
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 Phelps mix.
| # | Heat source | Count | Share | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Arcing | 21 | 41.2% | |
| 2 | Undetermined | 8 | 15.7% | |
| 3 | Radiated, conducted heat from operating equipment | 6 | 11.8% | |
| 4 | Heat source: other | 3 | 5.9% | |
| 5 | Cigarette | 3 | 5.9% | |
| 6 | Heat, spark from friction | 2 | 3.9% | |
| 7 | Flame/torch used for lighting | 2 | 3.9% | |
| 8 | Heat from powered equipment, other | 1 | 2.0% | |
| 9 | Hot or smoldering object, other | 1 | 2.0% | |
| 10 | Heat from other open flame or smoking materials | 1 | 2.0% | |
| 11 | All other sources | 3 | 5.9% |
Largest single-incident property losses reported by Phelps departments in 2025. These 1 fires alone account for 100% of the city's annual total.
| # | Property loss | Type | Severity | Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | $2,000 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
Per-capita rates let us compare apples to apples. Phelps sits above the national average for incidents per resident.
Top 25 wildfires (1992+) in the FPA-FOD ignitions database, scaled by acres. 1,620 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 | 14.3 mi | |
| 2011 | Smoking | 145 | 38.6 mi | |
| 1999 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 130 | 36.0 mi | |
| 2006 | Debris and open burning | 88 | 39.7 mi | |
| 2015 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 52 | 47.7 mi | |
| 2006 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 44 | 28.3 mi | |
| 2020 | Debris and open burning | 42 | 38.4 mi | |
| 2010 | Debris and open burning | 40 | 28.8 mi | |
| 2008 | Equipment and vehicle use | 40 | 32.5 mi | |
| 2001 | Recreation and ceremony | 33 | 35.1 mi | |
| 1993 | Debris and open burning | 31 | 30.1 mi | |
| 2009 | Smoking | 30 | 26.6 mi |
Top 6 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 Phelps. Useful comparison targets — same state, similar size, different fire profile.
1 departments report to NFIRS for incidents in Phelps.
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.