In 2025, fire departments serving Fox Chapel responded to 11 fire and hazmat incidents . Here's the full picture.
Gas leak (natural gas or LPG) lead by count. Building fires lead by dollars. Together the top five categories make up about 100% of all calls.
Mar peaks. Jan dips. Watch for the typical fall climb starting in October.
79 incidents 2021–2025. Peak year was 2021.
| Year | Incidents | YoY | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2021 | 26 | — | |
| 2022 | 13 | -50.0% | |
| 2023 | 15 | +15.4% | |
| 2024 | 14 | -6.7% | |
| 2025 | 11 | -21.4% |
For the 2 building fires Fox Chapel departments responded to in 2025, here's how they were classified once investigators were finished.
NFIRS Area of Origin (AREA_ORIG) for the 7 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 | 4 | 57.1% | |
| 2 | Corridor, mall | 1 | 14.3% | |
| 3 | Cooking area, kitchen | 1 | 14.3% | |
| 4 | Vacant structural area | 1 | 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 Fox Chapel mix.
| # | Heat source | Count | Share | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Undetermined | 5 | 71.4% | |
| 2 | Heat source: other | 1 | 14.3% | |
| 3 | Radiated, conducted heat from operating equipment | 1 | 14.3% |
Per-capita rates let us compare apples to apples. Fox Chapel sits below the national average for incidents per resident.
Top 25 wildfires (1992+) in the FPA-FOD ignitions database, scaled by acres. 1,645 acres burned in this 50-mile radius. Each dot is a fire — bigger dots burned more land.
| Year | Cause | Acres | Distance | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2010 | Equipment and vehicle use | 260 | 46.0 mi | |
| 2016 | Arson/incendiarism | 190 | 47.6 mi | |
| 2016 | Arson/incendiarism | 173 | 35.6 mi | |
| 2003 | Equipment and vehicle use | 152 | 34.4 mi | |
| 2013 | Debris and open burning | 106 | 35.1 mi | |
| 2009 | Debris and open burning | 90 | 49.5 mi | |
| 2002 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 76 | 44.9 mi | |
| 2005 | Arson/incendiarism | 60 | 41.0 mi | |
| 1992 | Arson/incendiarism | 48 | 36.4 mi | |
| 2006 | Debris and open burning | 45 | 38.4 mi | |
| 2003 | Debris and open burning | 41 | 45.2 mi | |
| 2006 | Equipment and vehicle use | 38 | 46.6 mi |
Top 2 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 Fox Chapel. 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.