In 2025, fire departments serving Emmaus responded to 131 fire and hazmat incidents — from cooking fires to gas leaks to a single $175K building blaze. Here's the full picture.
Cooking fire, confined to container lead by count. Building fires lead by dollars. Together the top five categories make up about 47% of all calls.
May peaks. Dec dips. Watch for the typical fall climb starting in October.
434 incidents 2021–2025. Peak year was 2025. $401K cumulative property loss.
| Year | Incidents | YoY | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2021 | 61 | — | |
| 2022 | 57 | -6.6% | |
| 2023 | 83 | +45.6% | |
| 2024 | 102 | +22.9% | |
| 2025 | 131 | +28.4% |
For the 15 building fires Emmaus departments responded to in 2025, here's how they were classified once investigators were finished.
NFIRS Area of Origin (AREA_ORIG) for the 42 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 | 9 | 21.4% | |
| 2 | Engine area, running gear, wheel area | 8 | 19.0% | |
| 3 | Undetermined | 4 | 9.5% | |
| 4 | Cooking area, kitchen | 3 | 7.1% | |
| 5 | Open area - outside; included are farmland, field | 3 | 7.1% | |
| 6 | Assembly area - less than 100 persons | 2 | 4.8% | |
| 7 | Bathroom, checkroom, lavatory, locker room | 2 | 4.8% | |
| 8 | Laundry area, wash house (laundry) | 2 | 4.8% | |
| 9 | Exterior balcony, unenclosed porch | 2 | 4.8% | |
| 10 | Common room, den, family room, living room, lounge | 1 | 2.4% | |
| 11 | All other areas | 6 | 14.3% |
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 Emmaus mix.
| # | Heat source | Count | Share | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Undetermined | 14 | 33.3% | |
| 2 | Arcing | 8 | 19.0% | |
| 3 | Hot ember or ash | 5 | 11.9% | |
| 4 | Heat from powered equipment, other | 4 | 9.5% | |
| 5 | Radiated, conducted heat from operating equipment | 3 | 7.1% | |
| 6 | Hot or smoldering object, other | 2 | 4.8% | |
| 7 | Cigarette | 2 | 4.8% | |
| 8 | Spark, ember or flame from operating equipment | 1 | 2.4% | |
| 9 | Candle | 1 | 2.4% | |
| 10 | Flame/torch used for lighting | 1 | 2.4% | |
| 11 | All other sources | 1 | 2.4% |
Largest single-incident property losses reported by Emmaus departments in 2025. These 8 fires alone account for 100% of the city's annual total.
| # | Property loss | Type | Severity | Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | $175,000 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
| 2 | $90,000 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
| 3 | $20,000 | Passenger vehicle fire | Significant | Investigated |
| 4 | $10,000 | Passenger vehicle fire | Significant | Investigated |
| 5 | $2,000 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
| 6 | $2,000 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
| 7 | $800 | Cooking fire, confined to container | Significant | Investigated |
| 8 | $500 | Chimney or flue fire, confined to chimney or flue | Significant | Investigated |
Per-capita rates let us compare apples to apples. Emmaus sits above the national average for incidents per resident.
Top 25 wildfires (1992+) in the FPA-FOD ignitions database, scaled by acres. 21,337 acres burned in this 50-mile radius. Each dot is a fire — bigger dots burned more land.
| Year | Cause | Acres | Distance | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2016 | Arson/incendiarism | 7,949 | 49.7 mi | |
| 2004 | Arson/incendiarism | 2,265 | 43.4 mi | |
| 2009 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 2,126 | 49.8 mi | |
| 2015 | Equipment and vehicle use | 848 | 19.9 mi | |
| 2020 | Arson/incendiarism | 812 | 43.7 mi | |
| 1995 | Recreation and ceremony | 750 | 38.4 mi | |
| 2012 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 741 | 26.2 mi | |
| 2015 | Arson/incendiarism | 674 | 41.8 mi | |
| 2016 | Arson/incendiarism | 647 | 46.3 mi | |
| 1999 | Arson/incendiarism | 623 | 37.5 mi | |
| 2010 | Arson/incendiarism | 336 | 44.5 mi | |
| 2014 | Arson/incendiarism | 328 | 37.6 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 | 18049 | 434 |
Six Pennsylvania cities with population within ±25% of Emmaus. Useful comparison targets — same state, similar size, different fire profile.
2 departments report to NFIRS for incidents in Emmaus.
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.