In 2025, fire departments serving Wantagh responded to 85 fire and hazmat incidents — from cooking fires to gas leaks to a single $500K building blaze. Here's the full picture.
Power line down lead by count. Building fires lead by dollars. Together the top five categories make up about 53% of all calls.
Jun peaks. Apr dips. Watch for the typical fall climb starting in October.
422 incidents 2021–2025. Peak year was 2022. $4.6M cumulative property loss.
| Year | Incidents | YoY | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2021 | 80 | — | |
| 2022 | 105 | +31.2% | |
| 2023 | 85 | -19.0% | |
| 2024 | 67 | -21.2% | |
| 2025 | 85 | +26.9% |
For the 4 building fires Wantagh departments responded to in 2025, here's how they were classified once investigators were finished.
NFIRS Area of Origin (AREA_ORIG) for the 33 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 | Outside area, other | 9 | 27.3% | |
| 2 | Undetermined | 6 | 18.2% | |
| 3 | Other | 4 | 12.1% | |
| 4 | Bedroom - < 5 persons; included are jail or prison | 2 | 6.1% | |
| 5 | Dining room, cafeteria bar area, beverage service | 2 | 6.1% | |
| 6 | Cooking area, kitchen | 2 | 6.1% | |
| 7 | Equipment or service area, other | 2 | 6.1% | |
| 8 | Attic: vacant, crawl space above top story, cupola | 2 | 6.1% | |
| 9 | Common room, den, family room, living room, lounge | 1 | 3.0% | |
| 10 | Laundry area, wash house (laundry) | 1 | 3.0% | |
| 11 | All other areas | 2 | 6.1% |
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 Wantagh mix.
| # | Heat source | Count | Share | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Undetermined | 15 | 45.5% | |
| 2 | Heat from powered equipment, other | 6 | 18.2% | |
| 3 | Heat source: other | 2 | 6.1% | |
| 4 | Hot or smoldering object, other | 2 | 6.1% | |
| 5 | Radiated, conducted heat from operating equipment | 1 | 3.0% | |
| 6 | Arcing | 1 | 3.0% | |
| 7 | Heat from other open flame or smoking materials | 1 | 3.0% | |
| 8 | Cigarette | 1 | 3.0% | |
| 9 | Candle | 1 | 3.0% | |
| 10 | Flame/torch used for lighting | 1 | 3.0% | |
| 11 | All other sources | 2 | 6.1% |
Largest single-incident property losses reported by Wantagh departments in 2025. These 3 fires alone account for 100% of the city's annual total.
| # | Property loss | Type | Severity | Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | $500,000 | Building fires | Major | Investigated |
| 2 | $101,000 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
| 3 | $9,999 | Flammable gas or liquid condition, other | Significant | Investigated |
Per-capita rates let us compare apples to apples. Wantagh sits below the national average for incidents per resident.
Top 25 wildfires (1992+) in the FPA-FOD ignitions database, scaled by acres. 12,740 acres burned in this 50-mile radius. Each dot is a fire — bigger dots burned more land.
| Year | Cause | Acres | Distance | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1995 | Arson/incendiarism | 5,050 | 46.0 mi | |
| 1995 | Equipment and vehicle use | 1,000 | 31.4 mi | |
| 2012 | Arson/incendiarism | 992 | 38.1 mi | |
| 2016 | Recreation and ceremony | 641 | 46.5 mi | |
| 2012 | Smoking | 481 | 49.6 mi | |
| 2010 | Firearms and explosives use | 475 | 45.1 mi | |
| 2006 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 450 | 45.1 mi | |
| 1999 | Recreation and ceremony | 410 | 48.5 mi | |
| 2013 | Recreation and ceremony | 363 | 34.8 mi | |
| 1997 | Arson/incendiarism | 350 | 47.1 mi | |
| 1992 | Arson/incendiarism | 250 | 31.4 mi | |
| 2013 | Arson/incendiarism | 230 | 44.4 mi |
Top 5 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 Wantagh. Useful comparison targets — same state, similar size, different fire profile.
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.