In 2025, fire departments serving Bobtown responded to 11 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. Jan dips. Watch for the typical fall climb starting in October.
33 incidents 2021–2025. Peak year was 2025.
| Year | Incidents | YoY | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2021 | 5 | — | |
| 2022 | 5 | +0.0% | |
| 2023 | 5 | +0.0% | |
| 2024 | 7 | +40.0% | |
| 2025 | 11 | +57.1% |
For the 5 building fires Bobtown departments responded to in 2025, here's how they were classified once investigators were finished.
NFIRS Area of Origin (AREA_ORIG) for the 6 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 | 1 | 16.7% | |
| 2 | Maintenance shop or area, paint shop or area | 1 | 16.7% | |
| 3 | Substructure area or space, crawl space | 1 | 16.7% | |
| 4 | Roof surface: exterior | 1 | 16.7% | |
| 5 | Vehicle area, other | 1 | 16.7% | |
| 6 | Outside area, other | 1 | 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 Bobtown mix.
| # | Heat source | Count | Share | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Arcing | 2 | 33.3% | |
| 2 | Undetermined | 2 | 33.3% | |
| 3 | Spark, ember or flame from operating equipment | 1 | 16.7% | |
| 4 | Hot ember or ash | 1 | 16.7% |
Per-capita rates let us compare apples to apples. Bobtown sits above the national average for incidents per resident.
Top 25 wildfires (1992+) in the FPA-FOD ignitions database, scaled by acres. 1,529 acres burned in this 50-mile radius. Each dot is a fire — bigger dots burned more land.
| Year | Cause | Acres | Distance | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2016 | Smoking | 394 | 15.3 mi | |
| 2001 | Smoking | 102 | 39.0 mi | |
| 1999 | Debris and open burning | 76 | 37.9 mi | |
| 1999 | Power generation/transmission/distribution | 71 | 37.7 mi | |
| 1999 | Power generation/transmission/distribution | 70 | 49.3 mi | |
| 1998 | Arson/incendiarism | 62 | 24.0 mi | |
| 2005 | Arson/incendiarism | 60 | 27.1 mi | |
| 2005 | Debris and open burning | 60 | 29.2 mi | |
| 1999 | Fireworks | 50 | 30.5 mi | |
| 2014 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 49 | 46.4 mi | |
| 1992 | Arson/incendiarism | 48 | 49.5 mi | |
| 2010 | Railroad operations and maintenance | 45 | 46.9 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 Bobtown. Useful comparison targets — same state, similar size, different fire profile.
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.