In 2025, fire departments serving Bath responded to 282 fire and hazmat incidents — from cooking fires to gas leaks to a single $100K building blaze. Here's the full picture.
Authorized controlled burning lead by count. Building fires lead by dollars. Together the top five categories make up about 80% of all calls.
May peaks. Dec dips. Watch for the typical fall climb starting in October.
1,235 incidents 2021–2025. Peak year was 2024. $100K cumulative property loss.
| Year | Incidents | YoY | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2021 | 160 | — | |
| 2022 | 211 | +31.9% | |
| 2023 | 244 | +15.6% | |
| 2024 | 338 | +38.5% | |
| 2025 | 282 | -16.6% |
For the 14 building fires Bath departments responded to in 2025, here's how they were classified once investigators were finished.
NFIRS Area of Origin (AREA_ORIG) for the 67 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 | Undetermined | 15 | 22.4% | |
| 2 | Other | 12 | 17.9% | |
| 3 | Outside area, other | 9 | 13.4% | |
| 4 | Cooking area, kitchen | 5 | 7.5% | |
| 5 | Vehicle area, other | 5 | 7.5% | |
| 6 | Egress/exit, other | 2 | 3.0% | |
| 7 | Vehicle storage area; garage, carport | 2 | 3.0% | |
| 8 | Engine area, running gear, wheel area | 2 | 3.0% | |
| 9 | Open area - outside; included are farmland, field | 2 | 3.0% | |
| 10 | Wildland, woods | 2 | 3.0% | |
| 11 | All other areas | 11 | 16.4% |
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 Bath mix.
| # | Heat source | Count | Share | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Undetermined | 34 | 50.7% | |
| 2 | Heat source: other | 11 | 16.4% | |
| 3 | Heat from powered equipment, other | 5 | 7.5% | |
| 4 | Arcing | 4 | 6.0% | |
| 5 | Hot ember or ash | 3 | 4.5% | |
| 6 | Spark, ember or flame from operating equipment | 2 | 3.0% | |
| 7 | Hot or smoldering object, other | 1 | 1.5% | |
| 8 | Explosive, fireworks, other | 1 | 1.5% | |
| 9 | Heat from other open flame or smoking materials | 1 | 1.5% | |
| 10 | Cigarette | 1 | 1.5% | |
| 11 | All other sources | 4 | 6.0% |
Largest single-incident property losses reported by Bath departments in 2025. These 2 fires alone account for 100% of the city's annual total.
| # | Property loss | Type | Severity | Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | $100,000 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
| 2 | $1 | Mobile property (vehicle) fire, other | Significant | Investigated |
Per-capita rates let us compare apples to apples. Bath sits above the national average for incidents per resident.
Top 25 wildfires (1992+) in the FPA-FOD ignitions database, scaled by acres. 23,174 acres burned in this 50-mile radius. Each dot is a fire — bigger dots burned more land.
| Year | Cause | Acres | Distance | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2016 | Arson/incendiarism | 7,949 | 35.3 mi | |
| 2004 | Arson/incendiarism | 2,265 | 29.6 mi | |
| 2009 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 2,126 | 41.0 mi | |
| 2008 | Arson/incendiarism | 995 | 38.0 mi | |
| 2015 | Equipment and vehicle use | 848 | 16.1 mi | |
| 2020 | Arson/incendiarism | 812 | 29.6 mi | |
| 1995 | Recreation and ceremony | 750 | 24.3 mi | |
| 2012 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 741 | 40.5 mi | |
| 2015 | Arson/incendiarism | 674 | 31.3 mi | |
| 2016 | Arson/incendiarism | 647 | 31.9 mi | |
| 1999 | Arson/incendiarism | 623 | 23.3 mi | |
| 2014 | Arson/incendiarism | 615 | 37.9 mi |
Top 4 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 Bath. 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.