In 2025, fire departments serving Clifton Heights responded to 99 fire and hazmat incidents — from cooking fires to gas leaks to a single $3K building blaze. Here's the full picture.
Cooking fire, confined to container lead by count. Building fires lead by dollars. Together the top five categories make up about 75% of all calls.
Jan peaks. Dec dips. Watch for the typical fall climb starting in October.
511 incidents 2021–2025. Peak year was 2024. $757K cumulative property loss.
| Year | Incidents | YoY | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2021 | 96 | — | |
| 2022 | 97 | +1.0% | |
| 2023 | 104 | +7.2% | |
| 2024 | 115 | +10.6% | |
| 2025 | 99 | -13.9% |
For the 15 building fires Clifton Heights departments responded to in 2025, here's how they were classified once investigators were finished.
NFIRS Area of Origin (AREA_ORIG) for the 60 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 | Outside area, other | 11 | 18.3% | |
| 2 | Open area - outside; included are farmland, field | 7 | 11.7% | |
| 3 | Cooking area, kitchen | 6 | 10.0% | |
| 4 | Engine area, running gear, wheel area | 6 | 10.0% | |
| 5 | Common room, den, family room, living room, lounge | 3 | 5.0% | |
| 6 | Bedroom - < 5 persons; included are jail or prison | 3 | 5.0% | |
| 7 | Laundry area, wash house (laundry) | 3 | 5.0% | |
| 8 | Bathroom, checkroom, lavatory, locker room | 2 | 3.3% | |
| 9 | Exterior balcony, unenclosed porch | 2 | 3.3% | |
| 10 | Wall assembly | 2 | 3.3% | |
| 11 | All other areas | 15 | 25.0% |
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 Clifton Heights mix.
| # | Heat source | Count | Share | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Undetermined | 32 | 53.3% | |
| 2 | Hot or smoldering object, other | 7 | 11.7% | |
| 3 | Hot ember or ash | 4 | 6.7% | |
| 4 | Radiated, conducted heat from operating equipment | 3 | 5.0% | |
| 5 | Heat from powered equipment, other | 2 | 3.3% | |
| 6 | Arcing | 2 | 3.3% | |
| 7 | Fireworks | 2 | 3.3% | |
| 8 | Flame/torch used for lighting | 2 | 3.3% | |
| 9 | Spark, ember or flame from operating equipment | 1 | 1.7% | |
| 10 | Heat, spark from friction | 1 | 1.7% | |
| 11 | All other sources | 4 | 6.7% |
Largest single-incident property losses reported by Clifton Heights departments in 2025. These 4 fires alone account for 100% of the city's annual total.
| # | Property loss | Type | Severity | Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | $3,000 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
| 2 | $3,000 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
| 3 | $2,500 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
| 4 | $1,000 | Cooking fire, confined to container | Significant | Investigated |
Per-capita rates let us compare apples to apples. Clifton Heights sits above the national average for incidents per resident.
Top 25 wildfires (1992+) in the FPA-FOD ignitions database, scaled by acres. 61,988 acres burned in this 50-mile radius. Each dot is a fire — bigger dots burned more land.
| Year | Cause | Acres | Distance | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1999 | Equipment and vehicle use | 11,765 | 49.2 mi | |
| 2019 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 11,638 | 46.2 mi | |
| 2017 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 3,577 | 38.9 mi | |
| 1992 | Arson/incendiarism | 2,900 | 38.3 mi | |
| 2002 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 2,600 | 42.8 mi | |
| 2007 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 2,450 | 34.7 mi | |
| 2014 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 2,300 | 43.0 mi | |
| 2010 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 2,240 | 41.2 mi | |
| 2020 | Arson/incendiarism | 2,107 | 28.8 mi | |
| 2008 | Arson/incendiarism | 1,950 | 31.2 mi | |
| 1997 | Arson/incendiarism | 1,900 | 35.4 mi | |
| 2001 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 1,600 | 49.8 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 Clifton Heights. 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.