In 2025, fire departments serving Collingdale responded to 97 fire and hazmat incidents — from cooking fires to gas leaks to a single $75K 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 76% of all calls.
Jul peaks. Dec dips. Watch for the typical fall climb starting in October.
557 incidents 2021–2025. Peak year was 2024. $632K cumulative property loss.
| Year | Incidents | YoY | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2021 | 103 | — | |
| 2022 | 107 | +3.9% | |
| 2023 | 114 | +6.5% | |
| 2024 | 136 | +19.3% | |
| 2025 | 97 | -28.7% |
For the 33 building fires Collingdale departments responded to in 2025, here's how they were classified once investigators were finished.
NFIRS Area of Origin (AREA_ORIG) for the 94 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 | 24 | 25.5% | |
| 2 | Cooking area, kitchen | 19 | 20.2% | |
| 3 | Undetermined | 9 | 9.6% | |
| 4 | Laundry area, wash house (laundry) | 6 | 6.4% | |
| 5 | Engine area, running gear, wheel area | 6 | 6.4% | |
| 6 | Common room, den, family room, living room, lounge | 4 | 4.3% | |
| 7 | Highway, parking lot, street: on or near | 3 | 3.2% | |
| 8 | Other | 2 | 2.1% | |
| 9 | Function area, other | 2 | 2.1% | |
| 10 | Bedroom - < 5 persons; included are jail or prison | 2 | 2.1% | |
| 11 | All other areas | 17 | 18.1% |
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 Collingdale mix.
| # | Heat source | Count | Share | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Undetermined | 55 | 58.5% | |
| 2 | Spark, ember or flame from operating equipment | 8 | 8.5% | |
| 3 | Radiated, conducted heat from operating equipment | 8 | 8.5% | |
| 4 | Arcing | 6 | 6.4% | |
| 5 | Heat from direct flame, convection currents | 6 | 6.4% | |
| 6 | Heat, spark from friction | 2 | 2.1% | |
| 7 | Cigarette | 2 | 2.1% | |
| 8 | Heat source: other | 1 | 1.1% | |
| 9 | Heat from powered equipment, other | 1 | 1.1% | |
| 10 | Hot ember or ash | 1 | 1.1% | |
| 11 | All other sources | 4 | 4.3% |
Largest single-incident property losses reported by Collingdale departments in 2025. These 4 fires alone account for 100% of the city's annual total.
| # | Property loss | Type | Severity | Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | $75,000 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
| 2 | $25,000 | Passenger vehicle fire | Significant | Investigated |
| 3 | $5,000 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
| 4 | $800 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
Per-capita rates let us compare apples to apples. Collingdale sits above the national average for incidents per resident.
Top 25 wildfires (1992+) in the FPA-FOD ignitions database, scaled by acres. 63,223 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 | 47.9 mi | |
| 2019 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 11,638 | 45.0 mi | |
| 2017 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 3,577 | 37.5 mi | |
| 1992 | Arson/incendiarism | 2,900 | 37.3 mi | |
| 2002 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 2,600 | 42.1 mi | |
| 2007 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 2,450 | 33.4 mi | |
| 2014 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 2,300 | 42.2 mi | |
| 2010 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 2,240 | 40.5 mi | |
| 2020 | Arson/incendiarism | 2,107 | 27.4 mi | |
| 1995 | Arson/incendiarism | 2,000 | 50.0 mi | |
| 2008 | Arson/incendiarism | 1,950 | 29.9 mi | |
| 1997 | Arson/incendiarism | 1,900 | 34.1 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 Collingdale. Useful comparison targets — same state, similar size, different fire profile.
2 departments report to NFIRS for incidents in Collingdale.
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.