In 2025, fire departments serving Avalon responded to 62 fire and hazmat incidents . 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 69% of all calls.
Mar peaks. May dips. Watch for the typical fall climb starting in October.
438 incidents 2021–2025. Peak year was 2023. $15K cumulative property loss.
| Year | Incidents | YoY | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2021 | 64 | — | |
| 2022 | 105 | +64.1% | |
| 2023 | 124 | +18.1% | |
| 2024 | 83 | -33.1% | |
| 2025 | 62 | -25.3% |
For the 11 building fires Avalon departments responded to in 2025, here's how they were classified once investigators were finished.
NFIRS Area of Origin (AREA_ORIG) for the 43 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 | 14 | 32.6% | |
| 2 | Undetermined | 9 | 20.9% | |
| 3 | Outside area, other | 6 | 14.0% | |
| 4 | Engine area, running gear, wheel area | 3 | 7.0% | |
| 5 | Laundry area, wash house (laundry) | 2 | 4.7% | |
| 6 | Duct: hvac, cable, exhaust, heating, or AC | 2 | 4.7% | |
| 7 | Roof surface: exterior | 2 | 4.7% | |
| 8 | Common room, den, family room, living room, lounge | 1 | 2.3% | |
| 9 | Office | 1 | 2.3% | |
| 10 | Conduit, pipe, utility, or ventilation shaft | 1 | 2.3% | |
| 11 | All other areas | 2 | 4.7% |
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 Avalon mix.
| # | Heat source | Count | Share | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Undetermined | 25 | 58.1% | |
| 2 | Heat from powered equipment, other | 6 | 14.0% | |
| 3 | Heat from direct flame, convection currents | 6 | 14.0% | |
| 4 | Heat source: other | 2 | 4.7% | |
| 5 | Arcing | 1 | 2.3% | |
| 6 | Hot or smoldering object, other | 1 | 2.3% | |
| 7 | Hot ember or ash | 1 | 2.3% | |
| 8 | Match | 1 | 2.3% |
Per-capita rates let us compare apples to apples. Avalon sits above the national average for incidents per resident.
Top 25 wildfires (1992+) in the FPA-FOD ignitions database, scaled by acres. 1,170 acres burned in this 50-mile radius. Each dot is a fire — bigger dots burned more land.
| Year | Cause | Acres | Distance | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2016 | Arson/incendiarism | 173 | 44.0 mi | |
| 2003 | Equipment and vehicle use | 152 | 40.6 mi | |
| 2013 | Debris and open burning | 106 | 31.5 mi | |
| 2003 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 78 | 45.3 mi | |
| 2005 | Arson/incendiarism | 60 | 44.4 mi | |
| 1992 | Arson/incendiarism | 48 | 27.1 mi | |
| 2006 | Debris and open burning | 45 | 42.6 mi | |
| 2003 | Debris and open burning | 41 | 47.9 mi | |
| 2006 | Equipment and vehicle use | 38 | 48.8 mi | |
| 2014 | Arson/incendiarism | 35 | 43.0 mi | |
| 2015 | Arson/incendiarism | 35 | 48.9 mi | |
| 2016 | Railroad operations and maintenance | 30 | 47.0 mi |
Top 5 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 Avalon. 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.