In 2025, fire departments serving Franklin responded to 107 fire and hazmat incidents — from cooking fires to gas leaks to a single $168K 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 56% of all calls.
Jul peaks. Dec dips. Watch for the typical fall climb starting in October.
805 incidents 2021–2025. Peak year was 2022. $878K cumulative property loss. 2 civilian deaths.
| Year | Incidents | YoY | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2021 | 160 | — | |
| 2022 | 210 | +31.2% | |
| 2023 | 183 | -12.9% | |
| 2024 | 145 | -20.8% | |
| 2025 | 107 | -26.2% |
For the 15 building fires Franklin departments responded to in 2025, here's how they were classified once investigators were finished.
NFIRS Area of Origin (AREA_ORIG) for the 224 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 | 55 | 24.6% | |
| 2 | Cooking area, kitchen | 43 | 19.2% | |
| 3 | Engine area, running gear, wheel area | 16 | 7.1% | |
| 4 | Undetermined | 16 | 7.1% | |
| 5 | Other | 15 | 6.7% | |
| 6 | Wildland, woods | 13 | 5.8% | |
| 7 | Open area - outside; included are farmland, field | 8 | 3.6% | |
| 8 | Bedroom - < 5 persons; included are jail or prison | 7 | 3.1% | |
| 9 | Function area, other | 6 | 2.7% | |
| 10 | Duct: hvac, cable, exhaust, heating, or AC | 5 | 2.2% | |
| 11 | All other areas | 40 | 17.9% |
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 Franklin mix.
| # | Heat source | Count | Share | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Undetermined | 63 | 28.1% | |
| 2 | Radiated, conducted heat from operating equipment | 32 | 14.3% | |
| 3 | Heat from powered equipment, other | 24 | 10.7% | |
| 4 | Arcing | 21 | 9.4% | |
| 5 | Heat source: other | 18 | 8.0% | |
| 6 | Cigarette lighter | 11 | 4.9% | |
| 7 | Hot ember or ash | 10 | 4.5% | |
| 8 | Flying brand, ember, spark | 8 | 3.6% | |
| 9 | Hot or smoldering object, other | 5 | 2.2% | |
| 10 | Heat from other open flame or smoking materials | 5 | 2.2% | |
| 11 | All other sources | 27 | 12.1% |
Largest single-incident property losses reported by Franklin departments in 2025. These 6 fires alone account for 100% of the city's annual total.
| # | Property loss | Type | Severity | Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | $168,396 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
| 2 | $50,000 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
| 3 | $3,000 | Fire in mobile home used as fixed residence | Significant | Investigated |
| 4 | $2,500 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
| 5 | $1,000 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
| 6 | $50 | Dumpster or other outside trash receptacle fire | Significant | Investigated |
Per-capita rates let us compare apples to apples. Franklin sits above the national average for incidents per resident.
Top 25 wildfires (1992+) in the FPA-FOD ignitions database, scaled by acres. 1,480 acres burned in this 50-mile radius. Each dot is a fire — bigger dots burned more land.
| Year | Cause | Acres | Distance | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2016 | Smoking | 394 | 27.6 mi | |
| 2001 | Smoking | 102 | 38.5 mi | |
| 1999 | Debris and open burning | 76 | 47.7 mi | |
| 1999 | Power generation/transmission/distribution | 71 | 35.6 mi | |
| 1998 | Arson/incendiarism | 62 | 28.4 mi | |
| 2005 | Arson/incendiarism | 60 | 33.2 mi | |
| 2005 | Debris and open burning | 60 | 42.5 mi | |
| 1999 | Fireworks | 50 | 43.8 mi | |
| 2014 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 49 | 35.0 mi | |
| 1992 | Arson/incendiarism | 48 | 36.5 mi | |
| 1992 | Debris and open burning | 45 | 33.3 mi | |
| 2014 | Debris and open burning | 40 | 44.1 mi |
Top 10 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 Franklin. Useful comparison targets — same state, similar size, different fire profile.
2 departments report to NFIRS for incidents in Franklin.
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.