In 2025, fire departments serving Ellwood City responded to 98 fire and hazmat incidents — from cooking fires to gas leaks to a single $6K 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 76% of all calls.
Jul peaks. Oct dips. Watch for the typical fall climb starting in October.
733 incidents 2021–2025. Peak year was 2023. $226K cumulative property loss.
| Year | Incidents | YoY | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2021 | 156 | — | |
| 2022 | 160 | +2.6% | |
| 2023 | 170 | +6.2% | |
| 2024 | 149 | -12.4% | |
| 2025 | 98 | -34.2% |
For the 40 building fires Ellwood City departments responded to in 2025, here's how they were classified once investigators were finished.
NFIRS Area of Origin (AREA_ORIG) for the 158 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 | 48 | 30.4% | |
| 2 | Cooking area, kitchen | 20 | 12.7% | |
| 3 | Open area - outside; included are farmland, field | 10 | 6.3% | |
| 4 | Vehicle area, other | 7 | 4.4% | |
| 5 | Undetermined | 7 | 4.4% | |
| 6 | Substructure area or space, crawl space | 6 | 3.8% | |
| 7 | Engine area, running gear, wheel area | 6 | 3.8% | |
| 8 | Wildland, woods | 6 | 3.8% | |
| 9 | Vehicle storage area; garage, carport | 5 | 3.2% | |
| 10 | Other | 4 | 2.5% | |
| 11 | All other areas | 39 | 24.7% |
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 Ellwood City mix.
| # | Heat source | Count | Share | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Undetermined | 56 | 35.4% | |
| 2 | Arcing | 15 | 9.5% | |
| 3 | Heat source: other | 13 | 8.2% | |
| 4 | Hot ember or ash | 12 | 7.6% | |
| 5 | Cigarette lighter | 10 | 6.3% | |
| 6 | Heat from powered equipment, other | 9 | 5.7% | |
| 7 | Radiated, conducted heat from operating equipment | 8 | 5.1% | |
| 8 | Hot or smoldering object, other | 5 | 3.2% | |
| 9 | Heat from direct flame, convection currents | 5 | 3.2% | |
| 10 | Spark, ember or flame from operating equipment | 4 | 2.5% | |
| 11 | All other sources | 21 | 13.3% |
Largest single-incident property losses reported by Ellwood City departments in 2025. These 3 fires alone account for 100% of the city's annual total.
| # | Property loss | Type | Severity | Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | $5,500 | Passenger vehicle fire | Significant | Investigated |
| 2 | $5,300 | Passenger vehicle fire | Significant | Investigated |
| 3 | $500 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
Per-capita rates let us compare apples to apples. Ellwood City sits above the national average for incidents per resident.
Top 25 wildfires (1992+) in the FPA-FOD ignitions database, scaled by acres. 1,598 acres burned in this 50-mile radius. Each dot is a fire — bigger dots burned more land.
| Year | Cause | Acres | Distance | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2003 | Debris and open burning | 342 | 38.5 mi | |
| 2010 | Equipment and vehicle use | 260 | 44.4 mi | |
| 2003 | Equipment and vehicle use | 152 | 36.1 mi | |
| 2013 | Debris and open burning | 106 | 4.2 mi | |
| 2003 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 78 | 30.8 mi | |
| 2002 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 76 | 46.4 mi | |
| 1992 | Arson/incendiarism | 48 | 38.5 mi | |
| 2016 | Debris and open burning | 47 | 36.0 mi | |
| 2006 | Debris and open burning | 45 | 31.2 mi | |
| 2003 | Debris and open burning | 41 | 30.6 mi | |
| 2006 | Equipment and vehicle use | 38 | 29.8 mi | |
| 2015 | Arson/incendiarism | 35 | 37.3 mi |
Top 5 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 Ellwood City. Useful comparison targets — same state, similar size, different fire profile.
2 departments report to NFIRS for incidents in Ellwood City.
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.