In 2025, fire departments serving Dallastown responded to 45 fire and hazmat incidents — from cooking fires to gas leaks to a single $65K building blaze. Here's the full picture.
Gas leak (natural gas or LPG) lead by count. Building fires lead by dollars. Together the top five categories make up about 69% of all calls.
Mar peaks. Jan dips. Watch for the typical fall climb starting in October.
243 incidents 2021–2025. Peak year was 2023. $116K cumulative property loss.
| Year | Incidents | YoY | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2021 | 30 | — | |
| 2022 | 60 | +100.0% | |
| 2023 | 61 | +1.7% | |
| 2024 | 47 | -23.0% | |
| 2025 | 45 | -4.3% |
For the 6 building fires Dallastown departments responded to in 2025, here's how they were classified once investigators were finished.
NFIRS Area of Origin (AREA_ORIG) for the 29 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 | 5 | 17.2% | |
| 2 | Cooking area, kitchen | 4 | 13.8% | |
| 3 | Exterior balcony, unenclosed porch | 3 | 10.3% | |
| 4 | Open area - outside; included are farmland, field | 3 | 10.3% | |
| 5 | Engine area, running gear, wheel area | 2 | 6.9% | |
| 6 | Wildland, woods | 2 | 6.9% | |
| 7 | Storage area, other | 1 | 3.4% | |
| 8 | Chute/container - trash, rubbish, waste | 1 | 3.4% | |
| 9 | Equipment or service area, other | 1 | 3.4% | |
| 10 | Ceiling & floor assembly, crawl space b/t stories | 1 | 3.4% | |
| 11 | All other areas | 6 | 20.7% |
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 Dallastown mix.
| # | Heat source | Count | Share | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Undetermined | 9 | 31.0% | |
| 2 | Hot ember or ash | 4 | 13.8% | |
| 3 | Arcing | 3 | 10.3% | |
| 4 | Spark, ember or flame from operating equipment | 2 | 6.9% | |
| 5 | Hot or smoldering object, other | 2 | 6.9% | |
| 6 | Heat from direct flame, convection currents | 2 | 6.9% | |
| 7 | Heat source: other | 1 | 3.4% | |
| 8 | Heat from powered equipment, other | 1 | 3.4% | |
| 9 | Radiated, conducted heat from operating equipment | 1 | 3.4% | |
| 10 | Cigarette | 1 | 3.4% | |
| 11 | All other sources | 3 | 10.3% |
Largest single-incident property losses reported by Dallastown departments in 2025. These 4 fires alone account for 100% of the city's annual total.
| # | Property loss | Type | Severity | Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | $65,000 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
| 2 | $30,000 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
| 3 | $10,000 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
| 4 | $25 | Outside rubbish fire, other | Significant | Investigated |
Per-capita rates let us compare apples to apples. Dallastown sits above the national average for incidents per resident.
Top 25 wildfires (1992+) in the FPA-FOD ignitions database, scaled by acres. 2,446 acres burned in this 50-mile radius. Each dot is a fire — bigger dots burned more land.
| Year | Cause | Acres | Distance | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2006 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 935 | 38.3 mi | |
| 2001 | Arson/incendiarism | 522 | 49.9 mi | |
| 2012 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 100 | 35.4 mi | |
| 2015 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 90 | 38.6 mi | |
| 2008 | Debris and open burning | 75 | 32.6 mi | |
| 2020 | Debris and open burning | 74 | 44.5 mi | |
| 2012 | Arson/incendiarism | 59 | 44.9 mi | |
| 2006 | Arson/incendiarism | 55 | 35.5 mi | |
| 2016 | Arson/incendiarism | 49 | 49.9 mi | |
| 2011 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 48 | 43.8 mi | |
| 2011 | Smoking | 48 | 47.9 mi | |
| 2012 | Debris and open burning | 40 | 49.8 mi |
Top 1 ZIP codes by NFIRS incident count across 2021–2025. Each ZIP has its own fire profile — dive in for neighborhood-level context.
| # | ZIP | 5-yr incidents | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 17313 | 243 |
Six Pennsylvania cities with population within ±25% of Dallastown. Useful comparison targets — same state, similar size, different fire profile.
2 departments report to NFIRS for incidents in Dallastown.
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.