In 2025, fire departments serving Frankford responded to 110 fire and hazmat incidents — from cooking fires to gas leaks to a single $5K 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 65% of all calls.
Jan peaks. Dec dips. Watch for the typical fall climb starting in October.
532 incidents 2021–2025. Peak year was 2022. $320K cumulative property loss. 1 civilian deaths.
| Year | Incidents | YoY | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2021 | 101 | — | |
| 2022 | 114 | +12.9% | |
| 2023 | 100 | -12.3% | |
| 2024 | 107 | +7.0% | |
| 2025 | 110 | +2.8% |
For the 27 building fires Frankford departments responded to in 2025, here's how they were classified once investigators were finished.
NFIRS Area of Origin (AREA_ORIG) for the 92 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 | 33 | 35.9% | |
| 2 | Other | 12 | 13.0% | |
| 3 | Outside area, other | 7 | 7.6% | |
| 4 | Storage area, other | 4 | 4.3% | |
| 5 | Wall surface: exterior | 4 | 4.3% | |
| 6 | Open area - outside; included are farmland, field | 4 | 4.3% | |
| 7 | Cooking area, kitchen | 3 | 3.3% | |
| 8 | Laundry area, wash house (laundry) | 3 | 3.3% | |
| 9 | Engine area, running gear, wheel area | 3 | 3.3% | |
| 10 | Wildland, woods | 3 | 3.3% | |
| 11 | All other areas | 16 | 17.4% |
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 Frankford mix.
| # | Heat source | Count | Share | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Undetermined | 49 | 53.3% | |
| 2 | Heat source: other | 13 | 14.1% | |
| 3 | Arcing | 8 | 8.7% | |
| 4 | Heat from powered equipment, other | 5 | 5.4% | |
| 5 | Hot or smoldering object, other | 5 | 5.4% | |
| 6 | Radiated, conducted heat from operating equipment | 4 | 4.3% | |
| 7 | Molten, hot material | 2 | 2.2% | |
| 8 | Lightning | 2 | 2.2% | |
| 9 | Hot ember or ash | 1 | 1.1% | |
| 10 | Heat from other open flame or smoking materials | 1 | 1.1% | |
| 11 | All other sources | 2 | 2.2% |
Largest single-incident property losses reported by Frankford departments in 2025. These 2 fires alone account for 100% of the city's annual total.
| # | Property loss | Type | Severity | Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | $5,000 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
| 2 | $1,000 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
Per-capita rates let us compare apples to apples. Frankford sits above the national average for incidents per resident.
Top 25 wildfires (1992+) in the FPA-FOD ignitions database, scaled by acres. 35,804 acres burned in this 50-mile radius. Each dot is a fire — bigger dots burned more land.
| Year | Cause | Acres | Distance | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2007 | Debris and open burning | 3,208 | 40.7 mi | |
| 2011 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 2,910 | 40.4 mi | |
| 2009 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 2,124 | 42.2 mi | |
| 2010 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 2,066 | 41.8 mi | |
| 1995 | Arson/incendiarism | 2,000 | 47.9 mi | |
| 2005 | Arson/incendiarism | 1,800 | 40.9 mi | |
| 2001 | Arson/incendiarism | 1,756 | 40.4 mi | |
| 2011 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 1,700 | 39.0 mi | |
| 2006 | Arson/incendiarism | 1,596 | 44.7 mi | |
| 2001 | Arson/incendiarism | 1,580 | 38.8 mi | |
| 2011 | Arson/incendiarism | 1,367 | 44.9 mi | |
| 2014 | Arson/incendiarism | 1,348 | 48.4 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 Delaware cities with population within ±25% of Frankford. Useful comparison targets — same state, similar size, different fire profile.
2 departments report to NFIRS for incidents in Frankford.
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.