In 2025, fire departments serving Bellefonte responded to 25 fire and hazmat incidents . Here's the full picture.
Hazardous condition, other lead by count. Building fires lead by dollars. Together the top five categories make up about 84% of all calls.
Mar peaks. Jan dips. Watch for the typical fall climb starting in October.
202 incidents 2021–2025. Peak year was 2021. $300K cumulative property loss. 1 civilian deaths.
| Year | Incidents | YoY | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2021 | 53 | — | |
| 2022 | 39 | -26.4% | |
| 2023 | 45 | +15.4% | |
| 2024 | 40 | -11.1% | |
| 2025 | 25 | -37.5% |
For the 7 building fires Bellefonte departments responded to in 2025, here's how they were classified once investigators were finished.
NFIRS Area of Origin (AREA_ORIG) for the 39 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 | 8 | 20.5% | |
| 2 | Outside area, other | 6 | 15.4% | |
| 3 | Bedroom - < 5 persons; included are jail or prison | 3 | 7.7% | |
| 4 | Function area, other | 2 | 5.1% | |
| 5 | Bathroom, checkroom, lavatory, locker room | 2 | 5.1% | |
| 6 | Attic: vacant, crawl space above top story, cupola | 2 | 5.1% | |
| 7 | Wildland, woods | 2 | 5.1% | |
| 8 | Undetermined | 2 | 5.1% | |
| 9 | Other | 1 | 2.6% | |
| 10 | Laundry area, wash house (laundry) | 1 | 2.6% | |
| 11 | All other areas | 10 | 25.6% |
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 Bellefonte mix.
| # | Heat source | Count | Share | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Undetermined | 10 | 25.6% | |
| 2 | Arcing | 5 | 12.8% | |
| 3 | Hot ember or ash | 5 | 12.8% | |
| 4 | Heat source: other | 4 | 10.3% | |
| 5 | Hot or smoldering object, other | 4 | 10.3% | |
| 6 | Heat from powered equipment, other | 2 | 5.1% | |
| 7 | Spark, ember or flame from operating equipment | 2 | 5.1% | |
| 8 | Radiated, conducted heat from operating equipment | 1 | 2.6% | |
| 9 | Heat, spark from friction | 1 | 2.6% | |
| 10 | Fireworks | 1 | 2.6% | |
| 11 | All other sources | 4 | 10.3% |
Per-capita rates let us compare apples to apples. Bellefonte sits below the national average for incidents per resident.
Top 25 wildfires (1992+) in the FPA-FOD ignitions database, scaled by acres. 12,715 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 | 46.4 mi | |
| 2006 | Arson/incendiarism | 1,329 | 29.5 mi | |
| 2001 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 1,000 | 16.5 mi | |
| 2006 | Arson/incendiarism | 917 | 30.0 mi | |
| 2018 | Debris and open burning | 688 | 19.3 mi | |
| 2006 | Arson/incendiarism | 605 | 38.3 mi | |
| 2001 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 500 | 8.0 mi | |
| 2006 | Equipment and vehicle use | 424 | 11.3 mi | |
| 2006 | Arson/incendiarism | 352 | 22.4 mi | |
| 2013 | Arson/incendiarism | 352 | 30.9 mi | |
| 2006 | Arson/incendiarism | 348 | 29.5 mi | |
| 2009 | Railroad operations and maintenance | 297 | 44.8 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 Bellefonte. Useful comparison targets — same state, similar size, different fire profile.
1 departments report to NFIRS for incidents in Bellefonte.
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.