In 2025, fire departments serving Doylestown responded to 42 fire and hazmat incidents — from cooking fires to gas leaks to a single $45K 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 62% of all calls.
Apr peaks. Jun dips. Watch for the typical fall climb starting in October.
257 incidents 2021–2025. Peak year was 2022. $617K cumulative property loss.
| Year | Incidents | YoY | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2021 | 44 | — | |
| 2022 | 61 | +38.6% | |
| 2023 | 60 | -1.6% | |
| 2024 | 50 | -16.7% | |
| 2025 | 42 | -16.0% |
For the 9 building fires Doylestown departments responded to in 2025, here's how they were classified once investigators were finished.
NFIRS Area of Origin (AREA_ORIG) for the 75 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 | Undetermined | 27 | 36.0% | |
| 2 | Open area - outside; included are farmland, field | 15 | 20.0% | |
| 3 | Outside area, other | 7 | 9.3% | |
| 4 | Engine area, running gear, wheel area | 4 | 5.3% | |
| 5 | Courtyard, patio, porch, terrace | 3 | 4.0% | |
| 6 | Common room, den, family room, living room, lounge | 2 | 2.7% | |
| 7 | Cooking area, kitchen | 2 | 2.7% | |
| 8 | Chute/container - trash, rubbish, waste | 2 | 2.7% | |
| 9 | Vehicle storage area; garage, carport | 2 | 2.7% | |
| 10 | Wildland, woods | 2 | 2.7% | |
| 11 | All other areas | 9 | 12.0% |
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 Doylestown mix.
| # | Heat source | Count | Share | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Undetermined | 47 | 62.7% | |
| 2 | Hot ember or ash | 6 | 8.0% | |
| 3 | Arcing | 4 | 5.3% | |
| 4 | Spark, ember or flame from operating equipment | 3 | 4.0% | |
| 5 | Match | 3 | 4.0% | |
| 6 | Heat source: other | 2 | 2.7% | |
| 7 | Heat from powered equipment, other | 2 | 2.7% | |
| 8 | Radiated, conducted heat from operating equipment | 2 | 2.7% | |
| 9 | Molten, hot material | 1 | 1.3% | |
| 10 | Heat from other open flame or smoking materials | 1 | 1.3% | |
| 11 | All other sources | 4 | 5.3% |
Largest single-incident property losses reported by Doylestown departments in 2025. These 6 fires alone account for 100% of the city's annual total.
| # | Property loss | Type | Severity | Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | $45,000 | Road freight or transport vehicle fire | Significant | Investigated |
| 2 | $45,000 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
| 3 | $4,000 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
| 4 | $2,500 | Chimney or flue fire, confined to chimney or flue | Significant | Investigated |
| 5 | $1,000 | Fire, other | Significant | Investigated |
| 6 | $1,000 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
Per-capita rates let us compare apples to apples. Doylestown sits above the national average for incidents per resident.
Top 25 wildfires (1992+) in the FPA-FOD ignitions database, scaled by acres. 890 acres burned in this 50-mile radius. Each dot is a fire — bigger dots burned more land.
| Year | Cause | Acres | Distance | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2014 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 175 | 37.2 mi | |
| 2015 | Debris and open burning | 171 | 37.5 mi | |
| 2003 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 78 | 45.9 mi | |
| 2014 | Debris and open burning | 60 | 35.6 mi | |
| 2015 | Arson/incendiarism | 35 | 42.6 mi | |
| 2005 | Debris and open burning | 30 | 40.7 mi | |
| 2005 | Debris and open burning | 30 | 21.2 mi | |
| 2002 | Recreation and ceremony | 25 | 13.1 mi | |
| 2013 | Debris and open burning | 25 | 36.2 mi | |
| 2014 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 22 | 35.8 mi | |
| 2019 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 20 | 34.4 mi | |
| 2020 | Debris and open burning | 20 | 38.0 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 Ohio cities with population within ±25% of Doylestown. Useful comparison targets — same state, similar size, different fire profile.
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.