Fire codes

New York Fire Code & Departments

High annual-fires load (#3 of 51 nationally) against a State-Specific Fire Code floor - 1,833 departments on the roster.

State-Specific Fire Code Adopted 2020

New York State Fire Prevention and Building Code

New York maintains its own fire code that draws from both IFC and NFPA standards. New York City has a separate, more stringent fire code.

State-Specific Fire Code · fires rank #3 of 51

New York adopts State-Specific Fire Code (2020), shared by 3 of 51 states in this extract. 1,833 fire departments; the state ranks #3 of 51 nationally by annual fires (USFA).

  • Annual-fires rank #3 of 51 nationally
  • 3 of 51 states share this code type
  • 76 career / 1,297 volunteer depts
1,833
Fire Departments
95,272
Total Personnel
1,297
Volunteer Depts
76
Career Depts

Largest Fire Departments in New York

#1
Buffalo Fire Department
Buffalo
765 personnel
#2
Yonkers Fire Department
Yonkers
459 personnel
#3
Syracuse Fire Department
Syracuse
403 personnel
#4
Rockville Centre Fire Department
Rockville Centre
341 personnel
#5
Freeport Fire Department
Freeport
331 personnel
View all 1,833 departments in New York →

New York's high fire-load code desk

High incident load (#3 of 51 nationally; ~113,000 fires/year) tests State-Specific Fire Code in the field more often than low-load peers on the same family.

Enforcement capacity is volunteer-dominant: 1,297 volunteer vs 76 career departments (6% career among typed orgs), with 95,272 personnel on HIFLD. In this mix, statewide code language matters most where the state fire marshal or county inspector fills gaps rural companies cannot staff full-time. Largest roster in-state: Buffalo Fire Department (765 personnel, 0.8% of the state total).

USFA annual-fires rank for New York is #3 of 51 (~113,000 fires/year ; 150 fire deaths; 1,241 injuries). Pair that incident load with the adoption vintage above when judging how hard the code is tested in the field. Figures: HIFLD Open Data ( FEMA / U.S. Fire Administration ), USFA published statistics, and state code-adoption records in this portal's extract.

Same State-Specific Fire Code family: nearest adoption peers

  • CA · adopted 2022 (2 yr from New York)
  • OR · adopted 2022 (2 yr from New York)

Frequently Asked Questions

How many fire departments are in New York?
New York has 1,833 fire departments registered in the HIFLD database, including 76 career departments and 1,297 volunteer departments with 95,272 total personnel.
How does New York's fire load compare nationally?
USFA ranks New York #3 of 51 by annual fires (~113,000 fires/year in this extract). Pair that load with the adoption vintage and department mix on this page, high-load states stress code enforcement differently than low-load peers on the same code family.
What fire code does New York use?
New York adopts the New York State Fire Prevention and Building Code (adopted 2020). New York maintains its own fire code that draws from both IFC and NFPA standards. New York City has a separate, more stringent fire code.
How current is New York's adopted fire code?
New York shows adoption year 2020 in this extract (mid-cycle band, 2019–2021). Local amendments can still tighten sprinkler or wildland rules beyond the statewide floor.
Data sourced from official public datasets. See our methodology for details. Retrieved and formatted by PlainFireData

Keep reading: Fire safety by state (pairs adoption vintage with incident load).