In 2025, fire departments serving Schroon Lake responded to 29 fire and hazmat incidents — from cooking fires to gas leaks to a single $3.0M 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 83% of all calls.
Nov peaks. Jan dips. Watch for the typical fall climb starting in October.
161 incidents 2021–2025. Peak year was 2024. $3.2M cumulative property loss.
| Year | Incidents | YoY | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2021 | 30 | — | |
| 2022 | 32 | +6.7% | |
| 2023 | 28 | -12.5% | |
| 2024 | 42 | +50.0% | |
| 2025 | 29 | -31.0% |
For the 5 building fires Schroon Lake departments responded to in 2025, here's how they were classified once investigators were finished.
NFIRS Area of Origin (AREA_ORIG) for the 19 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 | 11 | 57.9% | |
| 2 | Other | 3 | 15.8% | |
| 3 | Structural area, other | 3 | 15.8% | |
| 4 | Common room, den, family room, living room, lounge | 1 | 5.3% | |
| 5 | Storage area, other | 1 | 5.3% |
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 Schroon Lake mix.
| # | Heat source | Count | Share | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Undetermined | 12 | 63.2% | |
| 2 | Arcing | 3 | 15.8% | |
| 3 | Heat source: other | 2 | 10.5% | |
| 4 | Heat from powered equipment, other | 2 | 10.5% |
Largest single-incident property losses reported by Schroon Lake departments in 2025. These 2 fires alone account for 100% of the city's annual total.
| # | Property loss | Type | Severity | Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | $3,000,000 | Building fires | Major | Investigated |
| 2 | $200,000 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
Per-capita rates let us compare apples to apples. Schroon Lake sits above the national average for incidents per resident.
Top 25 wildfires (1992+) in the FPA-FOD ignitions database, scaled by acres. 2,875 acres burned in this 50-mile radius. Each dot is a fire — bigger dots burned more land.
| Year | Cause | Acres | Distance | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2001 | Railroad operations and maintenance | 330 | 37.6 mi | |
| 1998 | Smoking | 310 | 35.6 mi | |
| 2001 | Arson/incendiarism | 266 | 42.6 mi | |
| 2002 | Natural | 190 | 20.9 mi | |
| 2014 | Recreation and ceremony | 173 | 32.3 mi | |
| 2015 | Recreation and ceremony | 121 | 6.1 mi | |
| 1994 | Recreation and ceremony | 117 | 1.0 mi | |
| 1994 | Smoking | 106 | 30.3 mi | |
| 1992 | Arson/incendiarism | 100 | 47.3 mi | |
| 2009 | Natural | 95 | 11.2 mi | |
| 1999 | Recreation and ceremony | 92 | 24.0 mi | |
| 2009 | Equipment and vehicle use | 83 | 43.4 mi |
Top 1 ZIP codes by NFIRS incident count across 2021–2025. Each ZIP has its own fire profile — dive in for neighborhood-level context.
| # | ZIP | 5-yr incidents | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 12870 | 161 |
Six New York cities with population within ±25% of Schroon Lake. Useful comparison targets — same state, similar size, different fire profile.
1 departments report to NFIRS for incidents in Schroon Lake.
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.