In 2025, fire departments serving Brackenridge responded to 27 fire and hazmat incidents — from cooking fires to gas leaks to a single $181K 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 81% of all calls.
Feb peaks. Nov dips. Watch for the typical fall climb starting in October.
132 incidents 2021–2025. Peak year was 2022. $181K cumulative property loss.
| Year | Incidents | YoY | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2021 | 19 | — | |
| 2022 | 35 | +84.2% | |
| 2023 | 29 | -17.1% | |
| 2024 | 22 | -24.1% | |
| 2025 | 27 | +22.7% |
For the 8 building fires Brackenridge departments responded to in 2025, here's how they were classified once investigators were finished.
NFIRS Area of Origin (AREA_ORIG) for the 23 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 | Undetermined | 7 | 30.4% | |
| 2 | Cooking area, kitchen | 5 | 21.7% | |
| 3 | Outside area, other | 3 | 13.0% | |
| 4 | Bedroom - < 5 persons; included are jail or prison | 2 | 8.7% | |
| 5 | Laundry area, wash house (laundry) | 1 | 4.3% | |
| 6 | Chute/container - trash, rubbish, waste | 1 | 4.3% | |
| 7 | Duct: hvac, cable, exhaust, heating, or AC | 1 | 4.3% | |
| 8 | Operator/passenger area of transportation equip. | 1 | 4.3% | |
| 9 | Engine area, running gear, wheel area | 1 | 4.3% | |
| 10 | Highway, parking lot, street: on or near | 1 | 4.3% |
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 Brackenridge mix.
| # | Heat source | Count | Share | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Undetermined | 11 | 47.8% | |
| 2 | Arcing | 4 | 17.4% | |
| 3 | Heat from direct flame, convection currents | 2 | 8.7% | |
| 4 | Heat from powered equipment, other | 1 | 4.3% | |
| 5 | Radiated, conducted heat from operating equipment | 1 | 4.3% | |
| 6 | Cigarette | 1 | 4.3% | |
| 7 | Candle | 1 | 4.3% | |
| 8 | Lightning | 1 | 4.3% | |
| 9 | Conducted heat from another fire | 1 | 4.3% |
Largest single-incident property losses reported by Brackenridge departments in 2025. These 1 fires alone account for 100% of the city's annual total.
| # | Property loss | Type | Severity | Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | $181,000 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
Per-capita rates let us compare apples to apples. Brackenridge sits above the national average for incidents per resident.
Top 25 wildfires (1992+) in the FPA-FOD ignitions database, scaled by acres. 2,221 acres burned in this 50-mile radius. Each dot is a fire — bigger dots burned more land.
| Year | Cause | Acres | Distance | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2003 | Debris and open burning | 342 | 48.8 mi | |
| 2010 | Equipment and vehicle use | 260 | 37.6 mi | |
| 2016 | Arson/incendiarism | 190 | 41.5 mi | |
| 2016 | Arson/incendiarism | 173 | 31.4 mi | |
| 2003 | Railroad operations and maintenance | 173 | 44.5 mi | |
| 2003 | Equipment and vehicle use | 152 | 26.2 mi | |
| 2013 | Debris and open burning | 106 | 36.8 mi | |
| 2005 | Arson/incendiarism | 105 | 43.3 mi | |
| 2009 | Debris and open burning | 90 | 47.3 mi | |
| 2002 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 76 | 36.1 mi | |
| 2005 | Arson/incendiarism | 60 | 44.0 mi | |
| 1992 | Arson/incendiarism | 48 | 45.8 mi |
Top 3 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 Brackenridge. 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.