In 2025, fire departments serving Bensalem responded to 238 fire and hazmat incidents — from cooking fires to gas leaks to a single $25K 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 55% of all calls.
Feb peaks. Dec dips. Watch for the typical fall climb starting in October.
1,234 incidents 2021–2025. Peak year was 2022. $98K cumulative property loss. 1 civilian deaths.
| Year | Incidents | YoY | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2021 | 206 | — | |
| 2022 | 333 | +61.7% | |
| 2023 | 261 | -21.6% | |
| 2024 | 196 | -24.9% | |
| 2025 | 238 | +21.4% |
For the 44 building fires Bensalem departments responded to in 2025, here's how they were classified once investigators were finished.
NFIRS Area of Origin (AREA_ORIG) for the 240 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 | Other | 82 | 34.2% | |
| 2 | Undetermined | 52 | 21.7% | |
| 3 | Outside area, other | 25 | 10.4% | |
| 4 | Cooking area, kitchen | 14 | 5.8% | |
| 5 | Highway, parking lot, street: on or near | 10 | 4.2% | |
| 6 | Vehicle area, other | 9 | 3.8% | |
| 7 | Engine area, running gear, wheel area | 8 | 3.3% | |
| 8 | Wildland, woods | 8 | 3.3% | |
| 9 | Open area - outside; included are farmland, field | 7 | 2.9% | |
| 10 | Egress/exit, other | 2 | 0.8% | |
| 11 | All other areas | 23 | 9.6% |
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 Bensalem mix.
| # | Heat source | Count | Share | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Undetermined | 113 | 47.1% | |
| 2 | Heat source: other | 81 | 33.8% | |
| 3 | Hot or smoldering object, other | 9 | 3.8% | |
| 4 | Arcing | 8 | 3.3% | |
| 5 | Heat from powered equipment, other | 7 | 2.9% | |
| 6 | Spark, ember or flame from operating equipment | 5 | 2.1% | |
| 7 | Radiated, conducted heat from operating equipment | 3 | 1.2% | |
| 8 | Hot ember or ash | 2 | 0.8% | |
| 9 | Cigarette | 2 | 0.8% | |
| 10 | Cigarette lighter | 2 | 0.8% | |
| 11 | All other sources | 8 | 3.3% |
Largest single-incident property losses reported by Bensalem departments in 2025. These 8 fires alone account for 100% of the city's annual total.
| # | Property loss | Type | Severity | Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | $25,000 | Passenger vehicle fire | Significant | Investigated |
| 2 | $25,000 | Passenger vehicle fire | Significant | Investigated |
| 3 | $25,000 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
| 4 | $20,000 | Passenger vehicle fire | Significant | Investigated |
| 5 | $100 | Fires in structures other than in a building | Significant | Investigated |
| 6 | $1 | Passenger vehicle fire | Significant | Investigated |
| 7 | $1 | Fire, other | Significant | Investigated |
| 8 | $1 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
Per-capita rates let us compare apples to apples. Bensalem sits below the national average for incidents per resident.
Top 25 wildfires (1992+) in the FPA-FOD ignitions database, scaled by acres. 105,947 acres burned in this 50-mile radius. Each dot is a fire — bigger dots burned more land.
| Year | Cause | Acres | Distance | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1995 | Arson/incendiarism | 19,225 | 36.2 mi | |
| 2007 | Arson/incendiarism | 17,050 | 43.5 mi | |
| 1999 | Equipment and vehicle use | 11,765 | 39.7 mi | |
| 2019 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 11,638 | 35.1 mi | |
| 1992 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 5,284 | 38.7 mi | |
| 1992 | Arson/incendiarism | 4,832 | 41.3 mi | |
| 2017 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 3,577 | 33.7 mi | |
| 1992 | Arson/incendiarism | 2,900 | 24.9 mi | |
| 2001 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 2,730 | 34.8 mi | |
| 2002 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 2,600 | 24.2 mi | |
| 2007 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 2,450 | 29.8 mi | |
| 2014 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 2,300 | 25.2 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 Bensalem. Useful comparison targets — same state, similar size, different fire profile.
5 departments report to NFIRS for incidents in Bensalem.
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.