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Risk & Response

Essex County, NY

Community risk profile | NRI Score: 59.7 Relatively Moderate

36,973
Population
27
Departments
29
Stations
18
Census Tracts

Natural Hazard Loss Profile

Expected annual loss across the 18 natural hazards in FEMA's National Risk Index. Life safety is expressed in fatality-equivalents, combining expected deaths and injuries. Property loss counts building damage only, not agriculture.

Natural Hazard Life Safety
0.74
expected fatality-equivalents per year, natural hazards only
18th highest of 62
Life Safety per 100k
2.00
natural hazard fatality-equivalents per 100,000 residents
1st highest of 62
Natural Hazard Property Loss
$17.3M
expected building loss per year, natural hazards only
43rd highest of 62
Property Loss per Resident
$467
natural hazard building loss per resident per year
5th highest of 62

These figures cover natural hazards only. Structure fire, EMS, and motor vehicle incidents are not in the National Risk Index, so this is not an all-cause life safety measure. For Essex County, the largest single contributor is Avalanche, 72% of the life-safety total.

Essex County carries an expected under 1 natural hazard fatality-equivalents and $17.3M in building loss per year. Rank chips compare the 62 New York counties. Nationally, Essex County ranks 777th of 3,222 U.S. counties for life-safety loss, 629th for life safety per 100k residents, 1002nd for property loss, and 972nd for property loss per resident. Computed from census tract data covering every resident, independent of fire department boundaries.

Add fire mortality, cause, and loss

Natural hazard exposure is only part of the risk. Fire deaths and injuries, cause of ignition, and dollar loss per incident come from NERIS incident reporting, which grows as departments serving Essex County enroll. Our Regional tier adds that data for the departments your jurisdiction sponsors, next to public risk and NERIS adoption for every department in Essex County.

Talk to us about Essex County See what a department sees

Loss Breakdown

63%
37%
Property (buildings): $17.3M (63.0%)
Life safety: $10.1M (36.9%)
Agriculture: $49K (0.2%)

Total expected annual loss: $27,434,366 per year. Life safety is shown here in dollars, at FEMA's $13.7M value of statistical life, so the three shares sum to the total.

Hazards Ranked Two Ways

The hazard that threatens people is often not the hazard that destroys buildings. Both columns cover the same 18 hazards over the same year.

By life-safety loss ($/yr)

Avalanche
$7.3M
Cold Wave
$913K
Lightning
$636K
Landslide
$538K
Tornado
$191K
Ice Storm
$122K

By property loss ($/yr)

Inland Flooding
$15.6M
Earthquake
$783K
Hurricane
$324K
Strong Wind
$221K
Ice Storm
$143K
Tornado
$107K

Census Tract Risk Map

Shaded by quintile across the census tracts in Essex County. Gray tracts have no modeled loss or no resident population. Per-resident figures on this map use the National Risk Index 2020 tract population.

Fire Service Profile

93%
Combination: 7% (2)
Volunteer: 93% (25)
Residents per Station
1,275
census population per registered station
Stations per 100k
78.4
registered stations per 100,000 residents

Department composition covers the 27 departments registered in NERIS Public for Essex County, NY. Departments that have not registered are not counted. Station coverage divides census population by registered stations; department service areas overlap, so their populations are not summed.

Department Rankings

Fire and EMS departments serving Essex County. Click column headers to sort.

NRI Rating is from FEMA's National Risk Index, which measures community risk across 18 natural hazards using expected annual losses, social vulnerability, and community resilience. Life-Safety Loss uses FEMA's Value of Statistical Life ($13.7M per expected fatality) to estimate annual risk to human life.

Department boundaries and station counts are self-reported through NERIS Public and may not reflect current service areas. Population and Life-Safety Loss reflect each department's full jurisdiction. County-level risk metrics are computed from census tract data and are not affected by boundary accuracy. See full methodology.

Showing 27 departments
Department ▲ Est. Population ▲ Life-Safety Loss ▼ NRI Rating ▲ Stations ▲
Saranac Lake Volunteer Fire Department 20,527 $1.8M Relatively Moderate 1
Moriah Volunteer Fire Department 4,483 $1.2M Relatively Moderate 1
Port Henry Volunteer Fire Department, Inc. 4,483 $1.2M Relatively Moderate 1
Ticonderoga Fire District No 1 4,360 $1.1M Relatively High 1
Ausable Forks Volunteer Fire Department 7,225 $850.3K Relatively High 1
Ausable-Chesterfield-Keeseville Joint Fire District 5,513 $731.9K Relatively Moderate 1
Jay Volunteer Fire Department 2,354 $629.0K Relatively High 1
Crown Point Fire Department 1,984 $600.4K Relatively High 1
Willsboro Fire Department 1,903 $565.4K Relatively High 1
Mineville-Witherbee Fire Department 1,766 $503.4K Relatively Moderate 0
Essex Fire District #2 Whallonsburg Fire Company, Inc. 1,254 $482.3K Relatively High 1
Westport Hose Company #1 1,254 $482.3K Relatively High 1
Elizabethtown Volunteer Fire Department 1,139 $439.4K Relatively High 1
Lewis Volunteer Fire Department, Inc. 1,260 $395.0K Relatively High 1
Minerva Volunteer Fire Department And Rescue Squad, Inc. 822 $346.6K Relatively High 2
Shelburne Fire Department 7,969 $324.0K Relatively Low 2
Lake Placid Volunteer Fire Department 1,826 $313.1K Relatively Low 1
Wilmington Fire District 1,235 $289.3K Relatively Moderate 1
Keene Volunteer Fire Department, Inc. 580 $237.5K Very High 1
Newcomb Volunteer Fire Department And Rescue Squad 444 $187.4K Relatively High 2
Schroon Lake Fire Department 559 $183.1K Relatively High 1
Keene Valley Hose & Ladder Company 1 434 $177.9K Very High 1
Upper Jay Fire Department 516 $137.9K Relatively High 1
North Hudson Volunteer Fire Department 266 $112.1K Relatively High 1
Chilson Volunteer Fire Department 344 $111.6K Relatively Moderate 1
Ferrisburgh Volunteer Fire Department 1,816 $90.8K Very Low 1
Essex Fire District No 1 215 $67.5K Relatively High 1
No departments match your search.

Risk Snapshot

11.2%
Poverty Rate
26.4%
Age 65+
17.7%
Disability Rate
5.0%
Uninsured
62.5%
Pre-1980 Housing
5.9%
Mobile Homes
35.9%
Vacancy Rate
11.3%
Wood Heat
$72,890
Median HH Income

FEMA Disaster Declarations

7
Last 10 Years
17
Last 25 Years
Severe Storm
Most Frequent

Every department in your region, on one briefing

Our Regional tier gives state fire marshals and county fire authorities one briefing across every department in the jurisdiction: priority tracts ranked by risk and demand, NERIS adoption by county, and a quarterly report with a page per department. Response times appear for the departments you sponsor. Free 90-day pilot.

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