In 2025, fire departments serving Ebensburg responded to 20 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 85% of all calls.
Apr peaks. Jun dips. Watch for the typical fall climb starting in October.
166 incidents 2021–2025. Peak year was 2022.
| Year | Incidents | YoY | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2021 | 39 | — | |
| 2022 | 41 | +5.1% | |
| 2023 | 29 | -29.3% | |
| 2024 | 37 | +27.6% | |
| 2025 | 20 | -45.9% |
For the 6 building fires Ebensburg departments responded to in 2025, here's how they were classified once investigators were finished.
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 origin | Count | Share | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Other | 4 | 13.3% | |
| 2 | Cooking area, kitchen | 3 | 10.0% | |
| 3 | Laundry area, wash house (laundry) | 3 | 10.0% | |
| 4 | Exterior balcony, unenclosed porch | 3 | 10.0% | |
| 5 | Outside area, other | 3 | 10.0% | |
| 6 | Duct: hvac, cable, exhaust, heating, or AC | 2 | 6.7% | |
| 7 | Open area - outside; included are farmland, field | 2 | 6.7% | |
| 8 | Undetermined | 2 | 6.7% | |
| 9 | Function area, other | 1 | 3.3% | |
| 10 | Vehicle storage area; garage, carport | 1 | 3.3% | |
| 11 | All other areas | 6 | 20.0% |
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 Ebensburg mix.
| # | Heat source | Count | Share | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Undetermined | 11 | 36.7% | |
| 2 | Radiated, conducted heat from operating equipment | 4 | 13.3% | |
| 3 | Cigarette | 4 | 13.3% | |
| 4 | Hot or smoldering object, other | 3 | 10.0% | |
| 5 | Arcing | 2 | 6.7% | |
| 6 | Heat from direct flame, convection currents | 2 | 6.7% | |
| 7 | Heat source: other | 1 | 3.3% | |
| 8 | Hot ember or ash | 1 | 3.3% | |
| 9 | Cigarette lighter | 1 | 3.3% | |
| 10 | Flying brand, ember, spark | 1 | 3.3% |
Per-capita rates let us compare apples to apples. Ebensburg sits below the national average for incidents per resident.
Top 25 wildfires (1992+) in the FPA-FOD ignitions database, scaled by acres. 6,259 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 | 45.6 mi | |
| 2014 | Arson/incendiarism | 888 | 44.4 mi | |
| 2005 | Railroad operations and maintenance | 755 | 44.8 mi | |
| 2008 | Railroad operations and maintenance | 480 | 45.7 mi | |
| 2006 | Arson/incendiarism | 352 | 36.3 mi | |
| 2016 | Arson/incendiarism | 345 | 37.9 mi | |
| 2000 | Natural | 300 | 33.8 mi | |
| 2009 | Railroad operations and maintenance | 297 | 17.2 mi | |
| 2017 | Railroad operations and maintenance | 295 | 11.7 mi | |
| 2016 | Arson/incendiarism | 190 | 15.6 mi | |
| 2016 | Arson/incendiarism | 173 | 29.7 mi | |
| 2003 | Railroad operations and maintenance | 173 | 30.0 mi |
Top 4 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 Ebensburg. Useful comparison targets — same state, similar size, different fire profile.
2 departments report to NFIRS for incidents in Ebensburg.
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.