Home› Pennsylvania› Conestoga
2025 Annual Fire Report

Fires in Conestoga, Pennsylvania

In 2025, fire departments serving Conestoga responded to 13 fire and hazmat incidents . Here's the full picture.

Updated Sep 27, 2026 Grade B+ Peak yr 2024 Lancaster County 3,904 residents 2 reporting departments 153 5-yr

Incomplete 2025 data. Conestoga's departments reported 13 incidents to NFIRS for 2025, against about 31 in a typical year, so 2025 figures on this page undercount. The 2021–2025 totals are the better guide.

Total incidents
13
Not comparable with 2024 (incomplete reporting)
Building fires
2
Residential 50% Other 50%
Property loss
$0
$0 structure · $0 contents
Deaths & injuries
0 / 0
0 civilian deaths · 0 civ injuries · 0 firefighter injuries
01 The mix

What kinds of fires happen here?

Building fires lead by count. Building fires lead by dollars. Together the top five categories make up about 62% of all calls.

13
Total Incidents
Building fires 2 15.4%
Brush, or brush and grass mixture fire 2 15.4%
Grass fire 2 15.4%
Fire, other 1 7.7%
Cooking fire, confined to container 1 7.7%
All other categories 5 38.5%
02 Seasonality

When do fires happen?

Mar peaks. Jan dips. Watch for the typical fall climb starting in October.

Jan 0
Feb 1
Mar 5
Apr 2
May 1
Jun 3
Jul 0
Aug 1
Sep 0
Oct 0
Nov 0
Dec 0
Fewer
More
2b Five-year trend

Year over year in Conestoga

153 incidents 2021–2025. Peak year was 2024.

YearIncidentsYoY 
2021* 18 —
2022 25 —
2023 45 +80.0%
2024 52 +15.6%
2025* 13 —

* Well below Conestoga's usual volume. That almost always means one or more departments didn't submit a full year to NFIRS, not that fires dropped, so no year-over-year change is shown for it.

03 Cause of ignition

What sparks building fires?

For the 2 building fires Conestoga departments responded to in 2025, here's how they were classified once investigators were finished.

Unintentional
80%
4
Cause undetermined
20%
1
Intentional / arson
0%
0
Equipment / heat source failure
0%
0
Under investigation
0%
0
Act of nature (lightning)
0%
0
3b Where fires start

Where do fires start in Conestoga?

NFIRS Area of Origin (AREA_ORIG) for the 20 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 originCountShare 
1 Outside area, other 7 35.0%
2 Other 3 15.0%
3 Undetermined 3 15.0%
4 Vehicle area, other 2 10.0%
5 Cooking area, kitchen 1 5.0%
6 Laundry area, wash house (laundry) 1 5.0%
7 Storage area, other 1 5.0%
8 Equipment or service area, other 1 5.0%
9 Wildland, woods 1 5.0%
3c What ignited it

What actually ignited the fire?

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 Conestoga mix.

#Heat sourceCountShare 
1 Heat source: other 6 30.0%
2 Undetermined 6 30.0%
3 Heat from powered equipment, other 2 10.0%
4 Heat, spark from friction 1 5.0%
5 Munitions 1 5.0%
6 Fireworks 1 5.0%
7 Match 1 5.0%
8 Lightning 1 5.0%
9 Multiple heat sources including multiple ignitions 1 5.0%
05 How Conestoga compares

Conestoga vs Pennsylvania vs the nation

Per-capita rates let us compare apples to apples. Conestoga sits below the national average for incidents per resident.

3.33
Incidents per 1,000 residents
Conestoga
3.33
PA avg
6.49
US avg
7.48
0.51
Building fires per 1,000 residents
Conestoga
0.51
PA avg
1.39
US avg
0.85
0
Civilian fire deaths per million
Conestoga
0
PA avg
6.3
US avg
5.9
5c Wildfires nearby

Wildfires within 50 mi of Conestoga

Top 25 wildfires (1992+) in the FPA-FOD ignitions database, scaled by acres. 3,615 acres burned in this 50-mile radius. Each dot is a fire — bigger dots burned more land.

50 mi radius
YearCauseAcresDistance 
2006 Missing data/not specified/undetermined 935 39.4 mi
2012 Missing data/not specified/undetermined 741 36.8 mi
2001 Arson/incendiarism 522 44.5 mi
2006 Missing data/not specified/undetermined 470 49.7 mi
2012 Missing data/not specified/undetermined 100 37.7 mi
2015 Missing data/not specified/undetermined 90 38.5 mi
2008 Debris and open burning 75 20.5 mi
2020 Debris and open burning 74 44.6 mi
2012 Arson/incendiarism 59 46.0 mi
2006 Arson/incendiarism 55 49.8 mi
2001 Arson/incendiarism 50 49.4 mi
2016 Arson/incendiarism 49 37.4 mi
5d Top ZIPs

Where in Conestoga do fires concentrate?

Top 5 ZIP codes by NFIRS incident count across 2021–2025. Each ZIP has its own fire profile — dive in for neighborhood-level context.

#ZIP5-yr incidents 
1 17516 148
2 17518 2
3 17582 1
4 17604 1
5 17620 1
5e Peer cities

Cities similar to Conestoga

Six Pennsylvania cities with population within ±25% of Conestoga. Useful comparison targets — same state, similar size, different fire profile.

06 First responders

Who responds in Conestoga?

2 departments report to NFIRS for incidents in Conestoga.

Highville Fire Company
3079 River Road
FDID 36062Volunteer
Conestoga Fire Co
FDID 36053Volunteer
07 Stay prepared

Before the next Red Flag day.

A 30-minute weekend can cut your home's exposure substantially. These four checklists are a good starting point.

About this data

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.