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2025 Annual Fire Report

Fires in Coplay, Pennsylvania

In 2025, fire departments serving Coplay responded to 31 fire and hazmat incidents . Here's the full picture.

Updated Sep 27, 2026 Grade B- Peak yr 2022 Lehigh County 3,390 residents 1 reporting departments 290 5-yr

Incomplete 2025 data. Coplay's departments reported 31 incidents to NFIRS for 2025, against about 58 in a typical year, so 2025 figures on this page undercount. The 2021–2025 totals are the better guide.

Total incidents
31
Not comparable with 2024 (incomplete reporting)
Building fires
9
Residential 67% Other 33%
Property loss
$0
$0 structure · $0 contents
Deaths & injuries
0 / 1
0 civilian deaths · 1 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 61% of all calls.

31
Total Incidents
Building fires 9 29.0%
Trash or rubbish fire, contained 3 9.7%
Gas leak (natural gas or LPG) 3 9.7%
Passenger vehicle fire 2 6.5%
Brush, or brush and grass mixture fire 2 6.5%
All other categories 12 38.7%
02 Seasonality

When do fires happen?

Jul peaks. Apr dips. Watch for the typical fall climb starting in October.

Jan 3
Feb 4
Mar 6
Apr 0
May 0
Jun 2
Jul 9
Aug 3
Sep 4
Oct 0
Nov 0
Dec 0
Fewer
More
2b Five-year trend

Year over year in Coplay

290 incidents 2021–2025. Peak year was 2022.

YearIncidentsYoY 
2021 56 —
2022 77 +37.5%
2023 51 -33.8%
2024 75 +47.1%
2025* 31 —

* Well below Coplay'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 9 building fires Coplay departments responded to in 2025, here's how they were classified once investigators were finished.

Unintentional
33%
3
Cause undetermined
44%
4
Intentional / arson
11%
1
Equipment / heat source failure
0%
0
Under investigation
11%
1
Act of nature (lightning)
1%
0
3b Where fires start

Where do fires start in Coplay?

NFIRS Area of Origin (AREA_ORIG) for the 42 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 11 26.2%
2 Cooking area, kitchen 7 16.7%
3 Undetermined 4 9.5%
4 Other 3 7.1%
5 Exterior stairway, ramp, or fire escape 2 4.8%
6 Wall surface: exterior 2 4.8%
7 Engine area, running gear, wheel area 2 4.8%
8 Open area - outside; included are farmland, field 2 4.8%
9 Corridor, mall 1 2.4%
10 Bathroom, checkroom, lavatory, locker room 1 2.4%
11 All other areas 7 16.7%
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 Coplay mix.

#Heat sourceCountShare 
1 Undetermined 23 54.8%
2 Spark, ember or flame from operating equipment 3 7.1%
3 Cigarette 3 7.1%
4 Cigarette lighter 3 7.1%
5 Heat source: other 2 4.8%
6 Heat from powered equipment, other 2 4.8%
7 Hot or smoldering object, other 2 4.8%
8 Hot ember or ash 1 2.4%
9 Fireworks 1 2.4%
10 Heat from other open flame or smoking materials 1 2.4%
11 All other sources 1 2.4%
05 How Coplay compares

Coplay vs Pennsylvania vs the nation

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

9.14
Incidents per 1,000 residents
Coplay
9.14
PA avg
6.49
US avg
7.48
2.65
Building fires per 1,000 residents
Coplay
2.65
PA avg
1.39
US avg
0.85
0
Civilian fire deaths per million
Coplay
0
PA avg
6.3
US avg
5.9
5c Wildfires nearby

Wildfires within 50 mi of Coplay

Top 25 wildfires (1992+) in the FPA-FOD ignitions database, scaled by acres. 22,800 acres burned in this 50-mile radius. Each dot is a fire — bigger dots burned more land.

50 mi radius
YearCauseAcresDistance 
2016 Arson/incendiarism 7,949 41.0 mi
2004 Arson/incendiarism 2,265 34.2 mi
2009 Missing data/not specified/undetermined 2,126 41.4 mi
2008 Arson/incendiarism 995 43.4 mi
2015 Equipment and vehicle use 848 12.8 mi
2020 Arson/incendiarism 812 34.5 mi
1995 Recreation and ceremony 750 30.9 mi
2012 Missing data/not specified/undetermined 741 34.6 mi
2015 Arson/incendiarism 674 32.8 mi
2016 Arson/incendiarism 647 37.5 mi
1999 Arson/incendiarism 623 29.8 mi
2014 Arson/incendiarism 615 43.3 mi
5d Top ZIPs

Where in Coplay 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 18037 288
2 18052 1
3 18150 1
5e Peer cities

Cities similar to Coplay

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

06 First responders

Who responds in Coplay?

1 departments report to NFIRS for incidents in Coplay.

Coplay Fire Department
165 Cherry ST
FDID 39005Volunteer
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.