In 2025, fire departments serving Watkins Glen responded to 121 fire and hazmat incidents — from cooking fires to gas leaks to a single $50K 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 70% of all calls.
Aug peaks. Jan dips. Watch for the typical fall climb starting in October.
436 incidents 2021–2025. Peak year was 2025. $693K cumulative property loss.
| Year | Incidents | YoY | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2021 | 74 | — | |
| 2022 | 79 | +6.8% | |
| 2023 | 79 | +0.0% | |
| 2024 | 83 | +5.1% | |
| 2025 | 121 | +45.8% |
For the 6 building fires Watkins Glen departments responded to in 2025, here's how they were classified once investigators were finished.
NFIRS Area of Origin (AREA_ORIG) for the 37 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 | Engine area, running gear, wheel area | 9 | 24.3% | |
| 2 | Outside area, other | 5 | 13.5% | |
| 3 | Cooking area, kitchen | 4 | 10.8% | |
| 4 | Other | 3 | 8.1% | |
| 5 | Corridor, mall | 2 | 5.4% | |
| 6 | Bathroom, checkroom, lavatory, locker room | 2 | 5.4% | |
| 7 | Laundry area, wash house (laundry) | 2 | 5.4% | |
| 8 | Storage area, other | 2 | 5.4% | |
| 9 | Assembly or sales area, other | 1 | 2.7% | |
| 10 | Common room, den, family room, living room, lounge | 1 | 2.7% | |
| 11 | All other areas | 6 | 16.2% |
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 Watkins Glen mix.
| # | Heat source | Count | Share | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Hot or smoldering object, other | 8 | 21.6% | |
| 2 | Undetermined | 6 | 16.2% | |
| 3 | Radiated, conducted heat from operating equipment | 5 | 13.5% | |
| 4 | Heat source: other | 4 | 10.8% | |
| 5 | Heat from powered equipment, other | 3 | 8.1% | |
| 6 | Spark, ember or flame from operating equipment | 3 | 8.1% | |
| 7 | Arcing | 2 | 5.4% | |
| 8 | Heat spread from another fire, other | 2 | 5.4% | |
| 9 | Heat, spark from friction | 1 | 2.7% | |
| 10 | Candle | 1 | 2.7% | |
| 11 | All other sources | 2 | 5.4% |
Largest single-incident property losses reported by Watkins Glen departments in 2025. These 3 fires alone account for 100% of the city's annual total.
| # | Property loss | Type | Severity | Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | $50,000 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
| 2 | $15,000 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
| 3 | $500 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
Per-capita rates let us compare apples to apples. Watkins Glen sits above the national average for incidents per resident.
Top 25 wildfires (1992+) in the FPA-FOD ignitions database, scaled by acres. 2,132 acres burned in this 50-mile radius. Each dot is a fire — bigger dots burned more land.
| Year | Cause | Acres | Distance | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2010 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 694 | 42.2 mi | |
| 1999 | Arson/incendiarism | 150 | 41.6 mi | |
| 1995 | Arson/incendiarism | 130 | 30.6 mi | |
| 1999 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 130 | 14.3 mi | |
| 2015 | Debris and open burning | 95 | 44.4 mi | |
| 1999 | Debris and open burning | 85 | 28.0 mi | |
| 2016 | Debris and open burning | 73 | 35.1 mi | |
| 1999 | Debris and open burning | 60 | 34.9 mi | |
| 1995 | Debris and open burning | 52 | 18.3 mi | |
| 2015 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 52 | 24.4 mi | |
| 1997 | Debris and open burning | 50 | 34.9 mi | |
| 1994 | Debris and open burning | 50 | 18.8 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 Watkins Glen. Useful comparison targets — same state, similar size, different fire profile.
1 departments report to NFIRS for incidents in Watkins Glen.
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.