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2025 Annual Fire Report

Fires in Confluence, Pennsylvania

In 2025, fire departments serving Confluence responded to 12 fire and hazmat incidents . Here's the full picture.

Updated Sep 27, 2026 Grade C Peak yr 2021 Somerset County 596 residents 1 reporting departments 123 5-yr

Incomplete 2025 data. Confluence's departments reported 12 incidents to NFIRS for 2025, against about 25 in a typical year, so 2025 figures on this page undercount. The 2021–2025 totals are the better guide.

Total incidents
12
Not comparable with 2024 (incomplete reporting)
Building fires
8
Residential 63% Other 37%
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 100% of all calls.

12
Total Incidents
Building fires 8 66.7%
Brush, or brush and grass mixture fire 3 25.0%
Hazardous condition, other 1 8.3%
02 Seasonality

When do fires happen?

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

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

Year over year in Confluence

123 incidents 2021–2025. Peak year was 2021.

YearIncidentsYoY 
2021 32 —
2022 31 -3.1%
2023 30 -3.2%
2024 18 -40.0%
2025* 12 —

* Well below Confluence'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 8 building fires Confluence departments responded to in 2025, here's how they were classified once investigators were finished.

Unintentional
50%
1
Cause undetermined
50%
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 Confluence?

NFIRS Area of Origin (AREA_ORIG) for the 30 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 23.3%
2 Other 5 16.7%
3 Undetermined 5 16.7%
4 Duct: hvac, cable, exhaust, heating, or AC 2 6.7%
5 Vehicle area, other 2 6.7%
6 Wildland, woods 2 6.7%
7 Bedroom - < 5 persons; included are jail or prison 1 3.3%
8 Cooking area, kitchen 1 3.3%
9 Bathroom, checkroom, lavatory, locker room 1 3.3%
10 Storage area, other 1 3.3%
11 All other areas 3 10.0%
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 Confluence mix.

#Heat sourceCountShare 
1 Hot ember or ash 10 33.3%
2 Undetermined 8 26.7%
3 Heat source: other 4 13.3%
4 Heat from powered equipment, other 2 6.7%
5 Arcing 2 6.7%
6 Heat, spark from friction 1 3.3%
7 Fireworks 1 3.3%
8 Lightning 1 3.3%
9 Heat from direct flame, convection currents 1 3.3%
05 How Confluence compares

Confluence vs Pennsylvania vs the nation

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

20.13
Incidents per 1,000 residents
Confluence
20.13
PA avg
6.49
US avg
7.48
13.42
Building fires per 1,000 residents
Confluence
13.42
PA avg
1.39
US avg
0.85
0
Civilian fire deaths per million
Confluence
0
PA avg
6.3
US avg
5.9
5c Wildfires nearby

Wildfires within 50 mi of Confluence

Top 25 wildfires (1992+) in the FPA-FOD ignitions database, scaled by acres. 4,034 acres burned in this 50-mile radius. Each dot is a fire — bigger dots burned more land.

50 mi radius
YearCauseAcresDistance 
2014 Arson/incendiarism 888 36.8 mi
2005 Railroad operations and maintenance 755 30.0 mi
2008 Railroad operations and maintenance 480 31.2 mi
2016 Smoking 394 19.0 mi
2016 Arson/incendiarism 190 44.9 mi
2016 Arson/incendiarism 173 37.2 mi
1995 Debris and open burning 115 39.4 mi
1995 Debris and open burning 115 39.4 mi
2009 Debris and open burning 90 24.5 mi
2009 Missing data/not specified/undetermined 76 32.9 mi
1999 Arson/incendiarism 76 45.3 mi
2000 Natural 65 46.8 mi
5d Top ZIPs

Where in Confluence do fires concentrate?

Top 3 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 15424 121
2 15485 1
3 15656 1
5e Peer cities

Cities similar to Confluence

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

06 First responders

Who responds in Confluence?

1 departments report to NFIRS for incidents in Confluence.

Confluence Volunteer Fire Co
117 Baxter Street
FDID 56612Volunteer
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.