In 2025, fire departments serving Aldan responded to 50 fire and hazmat incidents — from cooking fires to gas leaks to a single $130K building blaze. Here's the full picture.
Gas leak (natural gas or LPG) lead by count. Building fires lead by dollars. Together the top five categories make up about 72% of all calls.
Jan peaks. Dec dips. Watch for the typical fall climb starting in October.
315 incidents 2021–2025. Peak year was 2021. $469K cumulative property loss.
| Year | Incidents | YoY | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2021 | 84 | — | |
| 2022 | 49 | -41.7% | |
| 2023 | 65 | +32.7% | |
| 2024 | 67 | +3.1% | |
| 2025 | 50 | -25.4% |
For the 8 building fires Aldan departments responded to in 2025, here's how they were classified once investigators were finished.
NFIRS Area of Origin (AREA_ORIG) for the 40 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 | Cooking area, kitchen | 6 | 15.0% | |
| 2 | Outside area, other | 6 | 15.0% | |
| 3 | Open area - outside; included are farmland, field | 5 | 12.5% | |
| 4 | Undetermined | 5 | 12.5% | |
| 5 | Exterior balcony, unenclosed porch | 4 | 10.0% | |
| 6 | Engine area, running gear, wheel area | 3 | 7.5% | |
| 7 | Highway, parking lot, street: on or near | 3 | 7.5% | |
| 8 | Common room, den, family room, living room, lounge | 2 | 5.0% | |
| 9 | Bedroom - < 5 persons; included are jail or prison | 2 | 5.0% | |
| 10 | Laundry area, wash house (laundry) | 1 | 2.5% | |
| 11 | All other areas | 3 | 7.5% |
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 Aldan mix.
| # | Heat source | Count | Share | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Undetermined | 20 | 50.0% | |
| 2 | Radiated, conducted heat from operating equipment | 4 | 10.0% | |
| 3 | Heat from powered equipment, other | 3 | 7.5% | |
| 4 | Arcing | 3 | 7.5% | |
| 5 | Cigarette | 2 | 5.0% | |
| 6 | Cigarette lighter | 2 | 5.0% | |
| 7 | Sunlight | 2 | 5.0% | |
| 8 | Spark, ember or flame from operating equipment | 1 | 2.5% | |
| 9 | Heat, spark from friction | 1 | 2.5% | |
| 10 | Hot ember or ash | 1 | 2.5% | |
| 11 | All other sources | 1 | 2.5% |
Largest single-incident property losses reported by Aldan departments in 2025. These 3 fires alone account for 100% of the city's annual total.
| # | Property loss | Type | Severity | Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | $130,000 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
| 2 | $7,000 | Passenger vehicle fire | Significant | Investigated |
| 3 | $600 | Special outside fire, other | Significant | Investigated |
Per-capita rates let us compare apples to apples. Aldan sits above the national average for incidents per resident.
Top 25 wildfires (1992+) in the FPA-FOD ignitions database, scaled by acres. 61,988 acres burned in this 50-mile radius. Each dot is a fire — bigger dots burned more land.
| Year | Cause | Acres | Distance | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1999 | Equipment and vehicle use | 11,765 | 48.6 mi | |
| 2019 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 11,638 | 45.7 mi | |
| 2017 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 3,577 | 38.3 mi | |
| 1992 | Arson/incendiarism | 2,900 | 37.9 mi | |
| 2002 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 2,600 | 42.5 mi | |
| 2007 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 2,450 | 34.1 mi | |
| 2014 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 2,300 | 42.7 mi | |
| 2010 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 2,240 | 40.9 mi | |
| 2020 | Arson/incendiarism | 2,107 | 28.2 mi | |
| 2008 | Arson/incendiarism | 1,950 | 30.6 mi | |
| 1997 | Arson/incendiarism | 1,900 | 34.8 mi | |
| 2001 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 1,600 | 49.3 mi |
Top 2 ZIP codes by NFIRS incident count across 2021–2025. Each ZIP has its own fire profile — dive in for neighborhood-level context.
Six Pennsylvania cities with population within ±25% of Aldan. 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.