In 2025, fire departments serving Rochester responded to 13 fire and hazmat incidents . Here's the full picture.
Arcing, shorted electrical equipment lead by count. Building fires lead by dollars. Together the top five categories make up about 62% of all calls.
Dec peaks. Feb dips. Watch for the typical fall climb starting in October.
68 incidents 2021–2025. Peak year was 2022. $660K cumulative property loss. 1 civilian deaths.
| Year | Incidents | YoY | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2021 | 10 | — | |
| 2022 | 18 | +80.0% | |
| 2023 | 12 | -33.3% | |
| 2024 | 15 | +25.0% | |
| 2025 | 13 | -13.3% |
For the 1 building fires Rochester departments responded to in 2025, here's how they were classified once investigators were finished.
NFIRS Area of Origin (AREA_ORIG) for the 16 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 | Undetermined | 6 | 37.5% | |
| 2 | Other | 2 | 12.5% | |
| 3 | Interior stairway or ramp | 1 | 6.2% | |
| 4 | Common room, den, family room, living room, lounge | 1 | 6.2% | |
| 5 | Bedroom - < 5 persons; included are jail or prison | 1 | 6.2% | |
| 6 | Vehicle storage area; garage, carport | 1 | 6.2% | |
| 7 | Duct: hvac, cable, exhaust, heating, or AC | 1 | 6.2% | |
| 8 | Roof surface: exterior | 1 | 6.2% | |
| 9 | Vehicle area, other | 1 | 6.2% | |
| 10 | Multiple areas | 1 | 6.2% |
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 Rochester mix.
| # | Heat source | Count | Share | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Undetermined | 6 | 37.5% | |
| 2 | Heat from powered equipment, other | 3 | 18.8% | |
| 3 | Heat source: other | 2 | 12.5% | |
| 4 | Hot ember or ash | 2 | 12.5% | |
| 5 | Arcing | 1 | 6.2% | |
| 6 | Cigarette lighter | 1 | 6.2% | |
| 7 | Candle | 1 | 6.2% |
Per-capita rates let us compare apples to apples. Rochester sits above the national average for incidents per resident.
Top 25 wildfires (1992+) in the FPA-FOD ignitions database, scaled by acres. 1,722 acres burned in this 50-mile radius. Each dot is a fire — bigger dots burned more land.
| Year | Cause | Acres | Distance | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1992 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 270 | 37.5 mi | |
| 2015 | Power generation/transmission/distribution | 137 | 23.3 mi | |
| 2015 | Recreation and ceremony | 121 | 40.7 mi | |
| 2012 | Debris and open burning | 120 | 25.8 mi | |
| 1994 | Recreation and ceremony | 117 | 46.7 mi | |
| 2009 | Equipment and vehicle use | 83 | 47.6 mi | |
| 2001 | Arson/incendiarism | 82 | 35.1 mi | |
| 1994 | Smoking | 75 | 44.2 mi | |
| 2002 | Natural | 65 | 39.5 mi | |
| 2014 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 62 | 35.5 mi | |
| 2018 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 60 | 25.8 mi | |
| 2016 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 47 | 21.5 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 Vermont cities with population within ±25% of Rochester. Useful comparison targets — same state, similar size, different fire profile.
1 departments report to NFIRS for incidents in Rochester.
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.