In 2025, fire departments serving Riverhead responded to 125 fire and hazmat incidents . Here's the full picture.
Carbon monoxide incident lead by count. Building fires lead by dollars. Together the top five categories make up about 57% of all calls.
Jan peaks. May dips. Watch for the typical fall climb starting in October.
578 incidents 2021–2025. Peak year was 2024.
| Year | Incidents | YoY | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2021 | 100 | — | |
| 2022 | 111 | +11.0% | |
| 2023 | 108 | -2.7% | |
| 2024 | 134 | +24.1% | |
| 2025 | 125 | -6.7% |
For the 7 building fires Riverhead departments responded to in 2025, here's how they were classified once investigators were finished.
NFIRS Area of Origin (AREA_ORIG) for the 44 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 | 9 | 20.5% | |
| 2 | Undetermined | 8 | 18.2% | |
| 3 | Bathroom, checkroom, lavatory, locker room | 5 | 11.4% | |
| 4 | Duct: hvac, cable, exhaust, heating, or AC | 5 | 11.4% | |
| 5 | Sales area, showroom (exclude display window) | 3 | 6.8% | |
| 6 | Other | 2 | 4.5% | |
| 7 | Assembly or sales area, other | 2 | 4.5% | |
| 8 | Bedroom - < 5 persons; included are jail or prison | 2 | 4.5% | |
| 9 | Exterior stairway, ramp, or fire escape | 1 | 2.3% | |
| 10 | Egress/exit, other | 1 | 2.3% | |
| 11 | All other areas | 6 | 13.6% |
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 Riverhead mix.
| # | Heat source | Count | Share | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Undetermined | 18 | 40.9% | |
| 2 | Arcing | 8 | 18.2% | |
| 3 | Heat from powered equipment, other | 3 | 6.8% | |
| 4 | Spark, ember or flame from operating equipment | 3 | 6.8% | |
| 5 | Radiated, conducted heat from operating equipment | 2 | 4.5% | |
| 6 | Hot or smoldering object, other | 2 | 4.5% | |
| 7 | Heat from other open flame or smoking materials | 2 | 4.5% | |
| 8 | Cigarette | 2 | 4.5% | |
| 9 | Heat from undetermined smoking material | 2 | 4.5% | |
| 10 | Chemical, natural heat source, other | 1 | 2.3% | |
| 11 | All other sources | 1 | 2.3% |
Per-capita rates let us compare apples to apples. Riverhead sits below the national average for incidents per resident.
Top 25 wildfires (1992+) in the FPA-FOD ignitions database, scaled by acres. 9,643 acres burned in this 50-mile radius. Each dot is a fire — bigger dots burned more land.
| Year | Cause | Acres | Distance | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1995 | Arson/incendiarism | 5,050 | 0.2 mi | |
| 1995 | Equipment and vehicle use | 1,000 | 14.7 mi | |
| 2012 | Arson/incendiarism | 992 | 7.8 mi | |
| 1997 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 361 | 45.2 mi | |
| 1992 | Arson/incendiarism | 250 | 14.7 mi | |
| 1999 | Arson/incendiarism | 175 | 41.6 mi | |
| 1995 | Arson/incendiarism | 152 | 0.2 mi | |
| 2012 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 150 | 40.7 mi | |
| 2002 | Arson/incendiarism | 125 | 28.7 mi | |
| 2000 | Arson/incendiarism | 125 | 41.6 mi | |
| 1998 | Arson/incendiarism | 100 | 14.7 mi | |
| 1999 | Arson/incendiarism | 100 | 14.7 mi |
Top 8 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 Riverhead. Useful comparison targets — same state, similar size, different fire profile.
1 departments report to NFIRS for incidents in Riverhead.
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.