In 2025, fire departments serving Bridgeport responded to 37 fire and hazmat incidents — from cooking fires to gas leaks to a single $1.2M 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 78% of all calls.
Feb peaks. Sep dips. Watch for the typical fall climb starting in October.
263 incidents 2021–2025. Peak year was 2021. $1.2M cumulative property loss.
| Year | Incidents | YoY | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2021 | 77 | — | |
| 2022 | 32 | -58.4% | |
| 2023 | 47 | +46.9% | |
| 2024 | 70 | +48.9% | |
| 2025 | 37 | -47.1% |
For the 22 building fires Bridgeport departments responded to in 2025, here's how they were classified once investigators were finished.
NFIRS Area of Origin (AREA_ORIG) for the 67 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 | 18 | 26.9% | |
| 2 | Cooking area, kitchen | 10 | 14.9% | |
| 3 | Outside area, other | 7 | 10.4% | |
| 4 | Laundry area, wash house (laundry) | 4 | 6.0% | |
| 5 | Exterior balcony, unenclosed porch | 4 | 6.0% | |
| 6 | Engine area, running gear, wheel area | 4 | 6.0% | |
| 7 | Vehicle area, other | 3 | 4.5% | |
| 8 | Entrance way, lobby | 2 | 3.0% | |
| 9 | Function area, other | 2 | 3.0% | |
| 10 | Bedroom - < 5 persons; included are jail or prison | 2 | 3.0% | |
| 11 | All other areas | 11 | 16.4% |
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 Bridgeport mix.
| # | Heat source | Count | Share | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Undetermined | 44 | 65.7% | |
| 2 | Heat source: other | 5 | 7.5% | |
| 3 | Arcing | 4 | 6.0% | |
| 4 | Heat from powered equipment, other | 3 | 4.5% | |
| 5 | Cigarette | 3 | 4.5% | |
| 6 | Hot or smoldering object, other | 2 | 3.0% | |
| 7 | Heat from other open flame or smoking materials | 2 | 3.0% | |
| 8 | Match | 2 | 3.0% | |
| 9 | Radiated, conducted heat from operating equipment | 1 | 1.5% | |
| 10 | Hot ember or ash | 1 | 1.5% |
Largest single-incident property losses reported by Bridgeport departments in 2025. These 2 fires alone account for 100% of the city's annual total.
| # | Property loss | Type | Severity | Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | $1,200,000 | Building fires | Major | Investigated |
| 2 | $20,000 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
Per-capita rates let us compare apples to apples. Bridgeport sits below the national average for incidents per resident.
Top 25 wildfires (1992+) in the FPA-FOD ignitions database, scaled by acres. 35,087 acres burned in this 50-mile radius. Each dot is a fire — bigger dots burned more land.
| Year | Cause | Acres | Distance | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2017 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 3,577 | 47.4 mi | |
| 1992 | Arson/incendiarism | 2,900 | 43.5 mi | |
| 2002 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 2,600 | 45.1 mi | |
| 2007 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 2,450 | 43.2 mi | |
| 2014 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 2,300 | 45.8 mi | |
| 2010 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 2,240 | 43.7 mi | |
| 2020 | Arson/incendiarism | 2,107 | 39.4 mi | |
| 2008 | Arson/incendiarism | 1,950 | 39.9 mi | |
| 1997 | Arson/incendiarism | 1,900 | 44.3 mi | |
| 2014 | Arson/incendiarism | 1,600 | 47.0 mi | |
| 2016 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 1,500 | 45.1 mi | |
| 2017 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 1,500 | 46.6 mi |
Top 4 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 Bridgeport. Useful comparison targets — same state, similar size, different fire profile.
1 departments report to NFIRS for incidents in Bridgeport.
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.