In 2025, fire departments serving Bedford responded to 26 fire and hazmat incidents — from cooking fires to gas leaks to a single $10K building blaze. Here's the full picture.
Building fires lead by count. Building fires lead by dollars. Together the top five categories make up about 85% of all calls.
Mar peaks. Oct dips. Watch for the typical fall climb starting in October.
206 incidents 2021–2025. Peak year was 2023. $110K cumulative property loss.
| Year | Incidents | YoY | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2021 | 36 | — | |
| 2022 | 49 | +36.1% | |
| 2023 | 58 | +18.4% | |
| 2024 | 37 | -36.2% | |
| 2025 | 26 | -29.7% |
For the 12 building fires Bedford departments responded to in 2025, here's how they were classified once investigators were finished.
NFIRS Area of Origin (AREA_ORIG) for the 42 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 | 8 | 19.0% | |
| 2 | Vehicle area, other | 5 | 11.9% | |
| 3 | Outside area, other | 5 | 11.9% | |
| 4 | Cooking area, kitchen | 4 | 9.5% | |
| 5 | Engine area, running gear, wheel area | 4 | 9.5% | |
| 6 | Other | 3 | 7.1% | |
| 7 | Open area - outside; included are farmland, field | 3 | 7.1% | |
| 8 | Exterior, exposed surface | 2 | 4.8% | |
| 9 | Bedroom - < 5 persons; included are jail or prison | 1 | 2.4% | |
| 10 | Laundry area, wash house (laundry) | 1 | 2.4% | |
| 11 | All other areas | 6 | 14.3% |
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 Bedford mix.
| # | Heat source | Count | Share | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Undetermined | 20 | 47.6% | |
| 2 | Heat source: other | 4 | 9.5% | |
| 3 | Heat, spark from friction | 3 | 7.1% | |
| 4 | Heat spread from another fire, other | 3 | 7.1% | |
| 5 | Arcing | 2 | 4.8% | |
| 6 | Hot ember or ash | 2 | 4.8% | |
| 7 | Spark, ember or flame from operating equipment | 1 | 2.4% | |
| 8 | Radiated, conducted heat from operating equipment | 1 | 2.4% | |
| 9 | Hot or smoldering object, other | 1 | 2.4% | |
| 10 | Molten, hot material | 1 | 2.4% | |
| 11 | All other sources | 4 | 9.5% |
Largest single-incident property losses reported by Bedford departments in 2025. These 1 fires alone account for 100% of the city's annual total.
| # | Property loss | Type | Severity | Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | $10,000 | Passenger vehicle fire | Significant | Investigated |
Per-capita rates let us compare apples to apples. Bedford sits below the national average for incidents per resident.
Top 25 wildfires (1992+) in the FPA-FOD ignitions database, scaled by acres. 6,004 acres burned in this 50-mile radius. Each dot is a fire — bigger dots burned more land.
| Year | Cause | Acres | Distance | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2001 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 1,000 | 37.6 mi | |
| 2014 | Arson/incendiarism | 888 | 16.2 mi | |
| 2005 | Railroad operations and maintenance | 755 | 20.9 mi | |
| 2008 | Railroad operations and maintenance | 480 | 20.7 mi | |
| 2016 | Arson/incendiarism | 345 | 17.2 mi | |
| 2000 | Natural | 300 | 22.6 mi | |
| 2009 | Railroad operations and maintenance | 297 | 30.3 mi | |
| 2017 | Railroad operations and maintenance | 295 | 29.8 mi | |
| 2016 | Arson/incendiarism | 190 | 36.0 mi | |
| 2016 | Arson/incendiarism | 173 | 44.9 mi | |
| 2010 | Arson/incendiarism | 160 | 42.3 mi | |
| 2001 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 150 | 43.8 mi |
Top 6 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 Bedford. Useful comparison targets — same state, similar size, different fire profile.
2 departments report to NFIRS for incidents in Bedford.
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.