In 2025, fire departments serving Rye responded to 172 fire and hazmat incidents — from cooking fires to gas leaks to a single $30 building blaze. Here's the full picture.
Gas leak (natural gas or LPG) lead by count. Building fires lead by dollars. Together the top five categories make up about 70% of all calls.
Oct peaks. Dec dips. Watch for the typical fall climb starting in October.
879 incidents 2021–2025. Peak year was 2024. $8K cumulative property loss.
| Year | Incidents | YoY | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2021 | 164 | — | |
| 2022 | 159 | -3.0% | |
| 2023 | 157 | -1.3% | |
| 2024 | 227 | +44.6% | |
| 2025 | 172 | -24.2% |
For the 5 building fires Rye departments responded to in 2025, here's how they were classified once investigators were finished.
NFIRS Area of Origin (AREA_ORIG) for the 4 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 | 2 | 50.0% | |
| 2 | Vehicle storage area; garage, carport | 1 | 25.0% | |
| 3 | Construction/renovation area | 1 | 25.0% |
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 Rye mix.
| # | Heat source | Count | Share | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Undetermined | 2 | 50.0% | |
| 2 | Heat source: other | 1 | 25.0% | |
| 3 | Arcing | 1 | 25.0% |
Largest single-incident property losses reported by Rye departments in 2025. These 2 fires alone account for 100% of the city's annual total.
| # | Property loss | Type | Severity | Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | $30 | Cooking fire, confined to container | Significant | Investigated |
| 2 | $20 | Trash or rubbish fire, contained | Significant | Investigated |
Per-capita rates let us compare apples to apples. Rye sits below the national average for incidents per resident.
Top 25 wildfires (1992+) in the FPA-FOD ignitions database, scaled by acres. 9,986 acres burned in this 50-mile radius. Each dot is a fire — bigger dots burned more land.
| Year | Cause | Acres | Distance | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1995 | Equipment and vehicle use | 1,000 | 40.3 mi | |
| 2012 | Arson/incendiarism | 992 | 45.2 mi | |
| 1999 | Smoking | 700 | 29.5 mi | |
| 2016 | Recreation and ceremony | 641 | 24.3 mi | |
| 2016 | Recreation and ceremony | 552 | 28.1 mi | |
| 2001 | Smoking | 550 | 47.1 mi | |
| 2001 | Arson/incendiarism | 485 | 29.9 mi | |
| 2012 | Smoking | 481 | 25.3 mi | |
| 2010 | Firearms and explosives use | 475 | 49.4 mi | |
| 1999 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 468 | 29.5 mi | |
| 1999 | Recreation and ceremony | 410 | 24.2 mi | |
| 2013 | Recreation and ceremony | 363 | 13.5 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 Rye. Useful comparison targets — same state, similar size, different fire profile.
1 departments report to NFIRS for incidents in Rye.
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.