In 2025, fire departments serving Tupper Lake responded to 41 fire and hazmat incidents . Here's the full picture.
Hazardous condition, other lead by count. Building fires lead by dollars. Together the top five categories make up about 73% of all calls.
Mar peaks. Nov dips. Watch for the typical fall climb starting in October.
223 incidents 2021–2025. Peak year was 2022.
| Year | Incidents | YoY | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2021 | 43 | — | |
| 2022 | 62 | +44.2% | |
| 2023 | 45 | -27.4% | |
| 2024 | 32 | -28.9% | |
| 2025 | 41 | +28.1% |
For the 6 building fires Tupper Lake departments responded to in 2025, here's how they were classified once investigators were finished.
NFIRS Area of Origin (AREA_ORIG) for the 9 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 | Structural area, other | 2 | 22.2% | |
| 2 | Outside area, other | 2 | 22.2% | |
| 3 | Egress/exit, other | 1 | 11.1% | |
| 4 | Cooking area, kitchen | 1 | 11.1% | |
| 5 | Duct: hvac, cable, exhaust, heating, or AC | 1 | 11.1% | |
| 6 | Substructure area or space, crawl space | 1 | 11.1% | |
| 7 | Attic: vacant, crawl space above top story, cupola | 1 | 11.1% |
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 Tupper Lake mix.
| # | Heat source | Count | Share | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Undetermined | 3 | 33.3% | |
| 2 | Hot ember or ash | 2 | 22.2% | |
| 3 | Heat source: other | 1 | 11.1% | |
| 4 | Spark, ember or flame from operating equipment | 1 | 11.1% | |
| 5 | Arcing | 1 | 11.1% | |
| 6 | Hot or smoldering object, other | 1 | 11.1% |
Per-capita rates let us compare apples to apples. Tupper Lake sits above the national average for incidents per resident.
Top 25 wildfires (1992+) in the FPA-FOD ignitions database, scaled by acres. 2,234 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 | 32.5 mi | |
| 1994 | Smoking | 255 | 45.5 mi | |
| 1992 | Arson/incendiarism | 190 | 17.0 mi | |
| 2015 | Recreation and ceremony | 121 | 49.1 mi | |
| 1994 | Recreation and ceremony | 117 | 44.5 mi | |
| 1994 | Smoking | 106 | 23.6 mi | |
| 2009 | Natural | 95 | 40.3 mi | |
| 1999 | Recreation and ceremony | 92 | 33.1 mi | |
| 2001 | Railroad operations and maintenance | 77 | 32.5 mi | |
| 2003 | Debris and open burning | 76 | 40.9 mi | |
| 2002 | Railroad operations and maintenance | 75 | 47.3 mi | |
| 1994 | Smoking | 75 | 42.8 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 New York cities with population within ±25% of Tupper Lake. Useful comparison targets — same state, similar size, different fire profile.
1 departments report to NFIRS for incidents in Tupper 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.