In 2025, fire departments serving Alburtis responded to 22 fire and hazmat incidents . Here's the full picture.
Building fires lead by count. Building fires lead by dollars. Together the top five categories make up about 77% of all calls.
May peaks. Jan dips. Watch for the typical fall climb starting in October.
139 incidents 2021–2025. Peak year was 2023.
| Year | Incidents | YoY | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2021 | 21 | — | |
| 2022 | 29 | +38.1% | |
| 2023 | 50 | +72.4% | |
| 2024 | 17 | -66.0% | |
| 2025 | 22 | +29.4% |
For the 7 building fires Alburtis departments responded to in 2025, here's how they were classified once investigators were finished.
NFIRS Area of Origin (AREA_ORIG) for the 24 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 | Other | 3 | 12.5% | |
| 2 | Function area, other | 2 | 8.3% | |
| 3 | Cooking area, kitchen | 2 | 8.3% | |
| 4 | Engine area, running gear, wheel area | 2 | 8.3% | |
| 5 | Outside area, other | 2 | 8.3% | |
| 6 | Railroad right of way: on or near | 2 | 8.3% | |
| 7 | Wildland, woods | 2 | 8.3% | |
| 8 | Egress/exit, other | 1 | 4.2% | |
| 9 | Common room, den, family room, living room, lounge | 1 | 4.2% | |
| 10 | Storage area, other | 1 | 4.2% | |
| 11 | All other areas | 6 | 25.0% |
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 Alburtis mix.
| # | Heat source | Count | Share | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Undetermined | 9 | 37.5% | |
| 2 | Spark, ember or flame from operating equipment | 4 | 16.7% | |
| 3 | Hot ember or ash | 4 | 16.7% | |
| 4 | Radiated, conducted heat from operating equipment | 3 | 12.5% | |
| 5 | Heat source: other | 1 | 4.2% | |
| 6 | Arcing | 1 | 4.2% | |
| 7 | Hot or smoldering object, other | 1 | 4.2% | |
| 8 | Cigarette lighter | 1 | 4.2% |
Per-capita rates let us compare apples to apples. Alburtis sits above the national average for incidents per resident.
Top 25 wildfires (1992+) in the FPA-FOD ignitions database, scaled by acres. 13,544 acres burned in this 50-mile radius. Each dot is a fire — bigger dots burned more land.
| Year | Cause | Acres | Distance | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2004 | Arson/incendiarism | 2,265 | 46.3 mi | |
| 2009 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 2,126 | 49.7 mi | |
| 2015 | Equipment and vehicle use | 848 | 19.6 mi | |
| 2020 | Arson/incendiarism | 812 | 46.8 mi | |
| 1995 | Recreation and ceremony | 750 | 43.0 mi | |
| 2012 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 741 | 22.1 mi | |
| 2015 | Arson/incendiarism | 674 | 42.7 mi | |
| 2016 | Arson/incendiarism | 647 | 49.9 mi | |
| 1999 | Arson/incendiarism | 623 | 42.0 mi | |
| 2010 | Arson/incendiarism | 336 | 44.1 mi | |
| 2014 | Arson/incendiarism | 328 | 37.3 mi | |
| 1995 | Railroad operations and maintenance | 325 | 33.1 mi |
Top 1 ZIP codes by NFIRS incident count across 2021–2025. Each ZIP has its own fire profile — dive in for neighborhood-level context.
| # | ZIP | 5-yr incidents | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 18011 | 139 |
Six Pennsylvania cities with population within ±25% of Alburtis. Useful comparison targets — same state, similar size, different fire profile.
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.