In 2025, fire departments serving Bellwood responded to 10 fire and hazmat incidents . Here's the full picture.
Building fires lead by count. Building fires lead by dollars. Together the top five categories make up about 100% of all calls.
Mar peaks. Feb dips. Watch for the typical fall climb starting in October.
72 incidents 2021–2025. Peak year was 2021.
| Year | Incidents | YoY | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2021 | 21 | — | |
| 2022 | 18 | -14.3% | |
| 2023 | 11 | -38.9% | |
| 2024 | 12 | +9.1% | |
| 2025 | 10 | -16.7% |
For the 10 building fires Bellwood departments responded to in 2025, here's how they were classified once investigators were finished.
NFIRS Area of Origin (AREA_ORIG) for the 18 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 | 4 | 22.2% | |
| 2 | Outside area, other | 2 | 11.1% | |
| 3 | Undetermined | 2 | 11.1% | |
| 4 | Storage area, other | 1 | 5.6% | |
| 5 | Storage: supplies or tools; dead storage | 1 | 5.6% | |
| 6 | Duct: hvac, cable, exhaust, heating, or AC | 1 | 5.6% | |
| 7 | Equipment or service area, other | 1 | 5.6% | |
| 8 | Structural area, other | 1 | 5.6% | |
| 9 | Wall assembly | 1 | 5.6% | |
| 10 | Vehicle area, other | 1 | 5.6% | |
| 11 | All other areas | 3 | 16.7% |
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 Bellwood mix.
| # | Heat source | Count | Share | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Undetermined | 6 | 33.3% | |
| 2 | Heat source: other | 4 | 22.2% | |
| 3 | Heat from powered equipment, other | 2 | 11.1% | |
| 4 | Arcing | 2 | 11.1% | |
| 5 | Spark, ember or flame from operating equipment | 1 | 5.6% | |
| 6 | Hot ember or ash | 1 | 5.6% | |
| 7 | Heat from other open flame or smoking materials | 1 | 5.6% | |
| 8 | Heat from direct flame, convection currents | 1 | 5.6% |
Per-capita rates let us compare apples to apples. Bellwood sits below the national average for incidents per resident.
Top 25 wildfires (1992+) in the FPA-FOD ignitions database, scaled by acres. 6,197 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 | 26.4 mi | |
| 2018 | Debris and open burning | 688 | 44.2 mi | |
| 2001 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 500 | 44.0 mi | |
| 2006 | Equipment and vehicle use | 424 | 34.1 mi | |
| 2006 | Arson/incendiarism | 352 | 16.2 mi | |
| 2013 | Arson/incendiarism | 352 | 44.9 mi | |
| 2016 | Arson/incendiarism | 345 | 33.8 mi | |
| 2000 | Natural | 300 | 25.8 mi | |
| 2009 | Railroad operations and maintenance | 297 | 9.2 mi | |
| 2017 | Railroad operations and maintenance | 295 | 12.4 mi | |
| 2008 | Recreation and ceremony | 233 | 42.5 mi | |
| 2016 | Arson/incendiarism | 190 | 37.7 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 Bellwood. Useful comparison targets — same state, similar size, different fire profile.
1 departments report to NFIRS for incidents in Bellwood.
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.