In 2025, fire departments serving Syracuse responded to 44 fire and hazmat incidents — from cooking fires to gas leaks to a single $100K building blaze. Here's the full picture.
Building fires lead by count. Building fires lead by dollars. Together the top five categories make up about 64% of all calls.
Mar peaks. Jan dips. Watch for the typical fall climb starting in October.
350 incidents 2021–2025. Peak year was 2022. $694K cumulative property loss.
| Year | Incidents | YoY | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2021 | 68 | — | |
| 2022 | 100 | +47.1% | |
| 2023 | 66 | -34.0% | |
| 2024 | 72 | +9.1% | |
| 2025 | 44 | -38.9% |
For the 10 building fires Syracuse departments responded to in 2025, here's how they were classified once investigators were finished.
NFIRS Area of Origin (AREA_ORIG) for the 70 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 | 29 | 41.4% | |
| 2 | Engine area, running gear, wheel area | 6 | 8.6% | |
| 3 | Vehicle storage area; garage, carport | 5 | 7.1% | |
| 4 | Wall surface: exterior | 4 | 5.7% | |
| 5 | Outside area, other | 4 | 5.7% | |
| 6 | Highway, parking lot, street: on or near | 4 | 5.7% | |
| 7 | Cooking area, kitchen | 2 | 2.9% | |
| 8 | Bathroom, checkroom, lavatory, locker room | 2 | 2.9% | |
| 9 | Storage area, other | 2 | 2.9% | |
| 10 | Structural area, other | 2 | 2.9% | |
| 11 | All other areas | 10 | 14.3% |
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 Syracuse mix.
| # | Heat source | Count | Share | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Undetermined | 31 | 44.3% | |
| 2 | Arcing | 6 | 8.6% | |
| 3 | Heat from powered equipment, other | 5 | 7.1% | |
| 4 | Radiated, conducted heat from operating equipment | 4 | 5.7% | |
| 5 | Hot or smoldering object, other | 3 | 4.3% | |
| 6 | Hot ember or ash | 3 | 4.3% | |
| 7 | Cigarette lighter | 3 | 4.3% | |
| 8 | Heat source: other | 2 | 2.9% | |
| 9 | Spark, ember or flame from operating equipment | 2 | 2.9% | |
| 10 | Heat, spark from friction | 2 | 2.9% | |
| 11 | All other sources | 9 | 12.9% |
Largest single-incident property losses reported by Syracuse departments in 2025. These 5 fires alone account for 100% of the city's annual total.
| # | Property loss | Type | Severity | Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | $100,000 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
| 2 | $5,000 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
| 3 | $2,000 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
| 4 | $1,000 | Brush, or brush and grass mixture fire | Significant | Investigated |
| 5 | $500 | Outside rubbish, trash or waste fire | Significant | Investigated |
Per-capita rates let us compare apples to apples. Syracuse sits above the national average for incidents per resident.
Top 7 wildfires (1992+) in the FPA-FOD ignitions database, scaled by acres. 301 acres burned in this 50-mile radius. Each dot is a fire — bigger dots burned more land.
| Year | Cause | Acres | Distance | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2014 | Debris and open burning | 154 | 46.2 mi | |
| 2006 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 50 | 47.9 mi | |
| 2002 | Recreation and ceremony | 35 | 38.5 mi | |
| 2004 | Debris and open burning | 20 | 38.4 mi | |
| 2002 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 15 | 32.1 mi | |
| 2018 | Equipment and vehicle use | 15 | 28.1 mi | |
| 2017 | Arson/incendiarism | 12 | 25.1 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 | 46567 | 350 |
Six Indiana cities with population within ±25% of Syracuse. Useful comparison targets — same state, similar size, different fire profile.
1 departments report to NFIRS for incidents in Syracuse.
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.