New York firefighters sounded the alarm over a startling statistic involving the amount of fire-related deaths across the state so far this year.

Forty-six people have died in residential fires across New York during the first nine weeks of 2023. The number is the most in the nation, and igniting a conversation about what can be done to curb the tragic trend.

“This is a recurring problem that we’ve got to focus some serious attention on,” said John D’Alessandro of the Firefighters Association of the State of New York (FASNY).

New York state is on pace to have the most residential fire-related deaths in the country for the fourth time in six years.

“As firefighters, we realize there is probably never going to be a time where that number goes to zero,” D'Alessandro said.

FASNY officials called on state lawmakers to step in.

“The problem for some is a lack of capacity, and for others, it’s a lack of will,” said state Assemblyman Ken Zebrowski.

Zebrowski is one of the lawmakers joining firefighter in pushing legislation that would direct funds collected through fire insurance fees to bolster code enforcement in communities across the state.

“This is money that is already collected from fire insurance," he said. "It was supposed to be allocated to municipalities. It was for a period of years, and then it was swept into the general fund.”

Advocates are also calling for increased penalties for building and fire code violations.

“New York state loves to boast how we lead the nation in this and that," Assemblyman John McDonald said. "We love to talk about it. We should be ashamed.”

They also want to slash economic barriers like sales tax on smoke detectors and other home fire safety devices.

“We have sales moratoriums on diapers and things like that. I don’t understand why we have to have such hard time when it’s protecting life and property,” DeStefano said.

Experts said while smoke detectors and fire extinguishers may seem like small, insignificant tools, they help prevent tragedies.

“The common theme here today is that everyone has a part to play in lowering that 46 fire-fatality number,” D'Alessandro said.

Another unfortunate statistic is the shrinking number of volunteer firefighters and EMS workers. Since the early 2000s, that number has gone from 120,000 to about 80,000 while call volumes continue to rise.

Advocates hope that by addressing some of the other issues, they can reverse that trend.