In 2025, fire departments serving Beech Creek responded to 17 fire and hazmat incidents . Here's the full picture.
Power line down lead by count. Building fires lead by dollars. Together the top five categories make up about 94% of all calls.
Mar peaks. Jan dips. Watch for the typical fall climb starting in October.
119 incidents 2021–2025. Peak year was 2022. $42K cumulative property loss.
| Year | Incidents | YoY | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2021 | 32 | — | |
| 2022 | 36 | +12.5% | |
| 2023 | 16 | -55.6% | |
| 2024 | 18 | +12.5% | |
| 2025 | 17 | -5.6% |
For the 1 building fires Beech Creek departments responded to in 2025, here's how they were classified once investigators were finished.
NFIRS Area of Origin (AREA_ORIG) for the 20 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 | Outside area, other | 6 | 30.0% | |
| 2 | Function area, other | 3 | 15.0% | |
| 3 | Cooking area, kitchen | 2 | 10.0% | |
| 4 | Open area - outside; included are farmland, field | 2 | 10.0% | |
| 5 | Bedroom - < 5 persons; included are jail or prison | 1 | 5.0% | |
| 6 | Structural area, other | 1 | 5.0% | |
| 7 | Wall assembly | 1 | 5.0% | |
| 8 | Vehicle area, other | 1 | 5.0% | |
| 9 | Operator/passenger area of transportation equip. | 1 | 5.0% | |
| 10 | Engine area, running gear, wheel area | 1 | 5.0% | |
| 11 | All other areas | 1 | 5.0% |
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 Beech Creek mix.
| # | Heat source | Count | Share | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Heat from powered equipment, other | 3 | 15.0% | |
| 2 | Radiated, conducted heat from operating equipment | 3 | 15.0% | |
| 3 | Arcing | 3 | 15.0% | |
| 4 | Hot ember or ash | 3 | 15.0% | |
| 5 | Undetermined | 3 | 15.0% | |
| 6 | Match | 2 | 10.0% | |
| 7 | Heat source: other | 1 | 5.0% | |
| 8 | Spark, ember or flame from operating equipment | 1 | 5.0% | |
| 9 | Hot or smoldering object, other | 1 | 5.0% |
Per-capita rates let us compare apples to apples. Beech Creek sits above the national average for incidents per resident.
Top 25 wildfires (1992+) in the FPA-FOD ignitions database, scaled by acres. 12,363 acres burned in this 50-mile radius. Each dot is a fire — bigger dots burned more land.
| Year | Cause | Acres | Distance | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2008 | Arson/incendiarism | 4,000 | 30.0 mi | |
| 2006 | Arson/incendiarism | 1,329 | 13.2 mi | |
| 2001 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 1,000 | 24.6 mi | |
| 2006 | Arson/incendiarism | 917 | 14.3 mi | |
| 2018 | Debris and open burning | 688 | 11.0 mi | |
| 2006 | Arson/incendiarism | 605 | 23.3 mi | |
| 2001 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 500 | 16.6 mi | |
| 2006 | Equipment and vehicle use | 424 | 28.0 mi | |
| 2006 | Arson/incendiarism | 352 | 34.3 mi | |
| 2013 | Arson/incendiarism | 352 | 24.3 mi | |
| 2006 | Arson/incendiarism | 348 | 13.2 mi | |
| 2009 | Railroad operations and maintenance | 236 | 27.8 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 Beech Creek. Useful comparison targets — same state, similar size, different fire profile.
1 departments report to NFIRS for incidents in Beech Creek.
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.