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Risk & Response

Jefferson County, NY

Community risk profile | NRI Score: 23.2 Relatively Low

115,040
Population
32
Departments
48
Stations
36
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
0.28
expected fatality-equivalents per year, natural hazards only
33rd highest of 62
Life Safety per 100k
0.25
natural hazard fatality-equivalents per 100,000 residents
48th highest of 62
Natural Hazard Property Loss
$21.7M
expected building loss per year, natural hazards only
37th highest of 62
Property Loss per Resident
$189
natural hazard building loss per resident per year
44th 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 Jefferson County, the largest single contributor is Cold Wave, 47% of the life-safety total.

Jefferson County carries an expected under 1 natural hazard fatality-equivalents and $21.7M in building loss per year. Rank chips compare the 62 New York counties. Nationally, Jefferson County ranks 1576th of 3,222 U.S. counties for life-safety loss, 3091st for life safety per 100k residents, 829th for property loss, and 2859th 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 Jefferson 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 Jefferson County.

Talk to us about Jefferson County See what a department sees

Loss Breakdown

84%
15%
Property (buildings): $21.7M (84.5%)
Life safety: $3.9M (15.1%)
Agriculture: $96K (0.4%)

Total expected annual loss: $25,726,417 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)

Cold Wave
$1.8M
Winter Weather
$587K
Strong Wind
$478K
Tornado
$342K
Lightning
$210K
Heat Wave
$167K

By property loss ($/yr)

Inland Flooding
$19.3M
Strong Wind
$841K
Earthquake
$786K
Ice Storm
$473K
Tornado
$142K
Hurricane
$82K

Census Tract Risk Map

Shaded by quintile across the census tracts in Jefferson 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

9%
88%
Career: 9% (3)
Combination: 3% (1)
Volunteer: 88% (28)
Residents per Station
2,397
census population per registered station
Stations per 100k
41.7
registered stations per 100,000 residents

Department composition covers the 32 departments registered in NERIS Public for Jefferson 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 Jefferson 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 32 departments
Department ▲ Est. Population ▲ Life-Safety Loss ▼ NRI Rating ▲ Stations ▲
Watertown Fire Department 24,338 $831.0K Relatively Low 6
Smithville Fire Department 16,036 $647.1K Relatively Low 1
Black River Fire Department, Inc. 16,799 $534.8K Very Low 1
Fort Drum Army Fire & Emergency Services 16,799 $534.8K Very Low 4
Sackets Harbor Volunteer Fire Company, Inc. 5,952 $211.3K Very Low 2
Watertown Fire Rescue 5,894 $205.6K Relatively Low 3
Cape Vincent Fire Department 3,754 $127.9K Very Low 1
Carthage Fire Department 3,262 $119.1K Relatively Low 1
Ellisburg Volunteer Fire Department 3,353 $117.8K Relatively Low 1
Lorraine Volunteer Fire Company, Inc. 3,353 $117.8K Relatively Low 1
Northpole Fire Company 3,105 $101.5K Relatively Low 1
Pamelia Volunteer Fire Department 3,105 $101.5K Relatively Low 1
Town of Orleans Fire District 2,859 $96.3K Relatively Low 3
Theresa Fire Department, Inc. 2,599 $89.2K Relatively Moderate 1
Felts Mills Volunteer Fire Company, Inc. 2,643 $86.3K Very Low 1
West Carthage Volunteer Fire Department, Inc. 2,347 $78.4K Relatively Low 1
Adams Center Fire Department 1,877 $72.6K Relatively Low 1
Alexandria Bay Fire Department 1,818 $59.0K Relatively Low 1
Adams Fire Department 1,525 $58.2K Relatively Low 1
Antwerp Volunteer Fire Department 1,658 $56.2K Relatively Moderate 1
Oxbow Volunteer Fire Company, Inc. 1,658 $56.2K Relatively Moderate 1
Clayton Volunteer Fire Department 1,851 $55.5K Relatively Low 2
Rodman Volunteer Fire Department 1,473 $53.6K Relatively Moderate 1
Great Bend Fire Department, Inc. 1,501 $48.7K Very Low 1
Belleville Volunteer Fire Department 1,151 $39.2K Relatively Low 1
Philadelphia Fire Department 1,046 $37.1K Relatively Low 1
Redwood Volunteer Fire Department, Inc. 1,107 $36.7K Relatively Low 1
Brownville Volunteer Fire Department 956 $31.0K Relatively Low 3
Three Mile Bay Fire Company, Inc. 849 $30.8K Very Low 1
Chaumont Volunteer Fire Department 562 $20.4K Very Low 1
Glen Park Fire Department 458 $14.8K Relatively Low 1
Deferiet Fire Department 238 $8.3K Relatively Moderate 1
No departments match your search.

Risk Snapshot

13.7%
Poverty Rate
15.1%
Age 65+
14.9%
Disability Rate
5.5%
Uninsured
56.3%
Pre-1980 Housing
10.1%
Mobile Homes
23.0%
Vacancy Rate
5.0%
Wood Heat
$69,135
Median HH Income

FEMA Disaster Declarations

6
Last 10 Years
12
Last 25 Years
Snowstorm
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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