In 2025, fire departments serving DuBois responded to 51 fire and hazmat incidents . Here's the full picture.
Building fires lead by count. Building fires lead by dollars. Together the top five categories make up about 63% of all calls.
Mar peaks. Aug dips. Watch for the typical fall climb starting in October.
387 incidents 2021–2025. Peak year was 2022.
| Year | Incidents | YoY | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2021 | 52 | — | |
| 2022 | 154 | +196.2% | |
| 2023 | 73 | -52.6% | |
| 2024 | 57 | -21.9% | |
| 2025 | 51 | -10.5% |
For the 10 building fires DuBois departments responded to in 2025, here's how they were classified once investigators were finished.
NFIRS Area of Origin (AREA_ORIG) for the 81 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 | 17 | 21.0% | |
| 2 | Cooking area, kitchen | 9 | 11.1% | |
| 3 | Engine area, running gear, wheel area | 9 | 11.1% | |
| 4 | Other | 7 | 8.6% | |
| 5 | Undetermined | 7 | 8.6% | |
| 6 | Function area, other | 4 | 4.9% | |
| 7 | Vehicle area, other | 3 | 3.7% | |
| 8 | Laundry area, wash house (laundry) | 2 | 2.5% | |
| 9 | Closet | 2 | 2.5% | |
| 10 | Equipment or service area, other | 2 | 2.5% | |
| 11 | All other areas | 19 | 23.5% |
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 DuBois mix.
| # | Heat source | Count | Share | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Undetermined | 25 | 30.9% | |
| 2 | Arcing | 11 | 13.6% | |
| 3 | Hot ember or ash | 8 | 9.9% | |
| 4 | Heat from powered equipment, other | 7 | 8.6% | |
| 5 | Spark, ember or flame from operating equipment | 7 | 8.6% | |
| 6 | Cigarette | 6 | 7.4% | |
| 7 | Heat source: other | 5 | 6.2% | |
| 8 | Heat, spark from friction | 2 | 2.5% | |
| 9 | Heat spread from another fire, other | 2 | 2.5% | |
| 10 | Heat from direct flame, convection currents | 2 | 2.5% | |
| 11 | All other sources | 6 | 7.4% |
Per-capita rates let us compare apples to apples. DuBois sits below the national average for incidents per resident.
Top 25 wildfires (1992+) in the FPA-FOD ignitions database, scaled by acres. 6,154 acres burned in this 50-mile radius. Each dot is a fire — bigger dots burned more land.
| Year | Cause | Acres | Distance | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2001 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 1,000 | 37.4 mi | |
| 2006 | Arson/incendiarism | 917 | 49.6 mi | |
| 2018 | Debris and open burning | 688 | 43.0 mi | |
| 2006 | Arson/incendiarism | 352 | 37.9 mi | |
| 2013 | Arson/incendiarism | 352 | 31.2 mi | |
| 2009 | Railroad operations and maintenance | 297 | 48.3 mi | |
| 2017 | Railroad operations and maintenance | 295 | 46.5 mi | |
| 2010 | Equipment and vehicle use | 260 | 38.9 mi | |
| 2009 | Railroad operations and maintenance | 236 | 35.8 mi | |
| 2008 | Recreation and ceremony | 233 | 21.1 mi | |
| 2003 | Railroad operations and maintenance | 173 | 20.1 mi | |
| 2010 | Arson/incendiarism | 160 | 36.0 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 Pennsylvania cities with population within ±25% of DuBois. Useful comparison targets — same state, similar size, different fire profile.
3 departments report to NFIRS for incidents in DuBois.
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.