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2025 Annual Fire Report

Fires in Freeland, Pennsylvania

In 2025, fire departments serving Freeland responded to 18 fire and hazmat incidents . Here's the full picture.

Updated Sep 27, 2026 Grade C+ Peak yr 2021 Luzerne County 3,807 residents 3 reporting departments 334 5-yr

Incomplete 2025 data. Freeland's departments reported 18 incidents to NFIRS for 2025, against about 67 in a typical year, so 2025 figures on this page undercount. The 2021–2025 totals are the better guide.

Total incidents
18
Not comparable with 2024 (incomplete reporting)
Building fires
5
Residential 60% Other 40%
Property loss
$0
$0 structure · $0 contents
Deaths & injuries
0 / 0
0 civilian deaths · 0 civ injuries · 0 firefighter injuries
01 The mix

What kinds of fires happen here?

Building fires lead by count. Building fires lead by dollars. Together the top five categories make up about 72% of all calls.

18
Total Incidents
Building fires 5 27.8%
Chimney or flue fire, confined to chimney or flue 3 16.7%
Oil or other combustible liquid spill 2 11.1%
Carbon monoxide incident 2 11.1%
Fuel burner/boiler malfunction, fire confined 1 5.6%
All other categories 5 27.8%
02 Seasonality

When do fires happen?

Jan peaks. Feb dips. Watch for the typical fall climb starting in October.

Jan 5
Feb 0
Mar 4
Apr 2
May 3
Jun 0
Jul 3
Aug 1
Sep 0
Oct 0
Nov 0
Dec 0
Fewer
More
2b Five-year trend

Year over year in Freeland

334 incidents 2021–2025. Peak year was 2021.

YearIncidentsYoY 
2021 101 —
2022 83 -17.8%
2023 85 +2.4%
2024 47 -44.7%
2025* 18 —

* Well below Freeland's usual volume. That almost always means one or more departments didn't submit a full year to NFIRS, not that fires dropped, so no year-over-year change is shown for it.

03 Cause of ignition

What sparks building fires?

For the 5 building fires Freeland departments responded to in 2025, here's how they were classified once investigators were finished.

Unintentional
100%
2
Cause undetermined
0%
0
Intentional / arson
0%
0
Equipment / heat source failure
0%
0
Under investigation
0%
0
Act of nature (lightning)
0%
0
3b Where fires start

Where do fires start in Freeland?

NFIRS Area of Origin (AREA_ORIG) for the 59 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 originCountShare 
1 Cooking area, kitchen 24 40.7%
2 Outside area, other 5 8.5%
3 Bedroom - < 5 persons; included are jail or prison 2 3.4%
4 Storage area, other 2 3.4%
5 Storage room, area, tank, or bin 2 3.4%
6 Vehicle storage area; garage, carport 2 3.4%
7 Heating room or area, water heater area 2 3.4%
8 Railroad right of way: on or near 2 3.4%
9 Courtyard, patio, porch, terrace 2 3.4%
10 Open area - outside; included are farmland, field 2 3.4%
11 All other areas 14 23.7%
3c What ignited it

What actually ignited the fire?

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 Freeland mix.

#Heat sourceCountShare 
1 Radiated, conducted heat from operating equipment 22 37.3%
2 Hot ember or ash 11 18.6%
3 Match 5 8.5%
4 Heat from powered equipment, other 4 6.8%
5 Molten, hot material 4 6.8%
6 Hot or smoldering object, other 2 3.4%
7 Cigarette lighter 2 3.4%
8 Undetermined 2 3.4%
9 Spark, ember or flame from operating equipment 1 1.7%
10 Arcing 1 1.7%
11 All other sources 5 8.5%
05 How Freeland compares

Freeland vs Pennsylvania vs the nation

Per-capita rates let us compare apples to apples. Freeland sits below the national average for incidents per resident.

4.73
Incidents per 1,000 residents
Freeland
4.73
PA avg
6.49
US avg
7.48
1.31
Building fires per 1,000 residents
Freeland
1.31
PA avg
1.39
US avg
0.85
0
Civilian fire deaths per million
Freeland
0
PA avg
6.3
US avg
5.9
5c Wildfires nearby

Wildfires within 50 mi of Freeland

Top 25 wildfires (1992+) in the FPA-FOD ignitions database, scaled by acres. 22,174 acres burned in this 50-mile radius. Each dot is a fire — bigger dots burned more land.

50 mi radius
YearCauseAcresDistance 
2016 Arson/incendiarism 7,949 39.5 mi
2004 Arson/incendiarism 2,265 29.0 mi
2009 Missing data/not specified/undetermined 2,126 12.4 mi
2008 Arson/incendiarism 995 39.6 mi
2015 Equipment and vehicle use 848 19.6 mi
2020 Arson/incendiarism 812 31.2 mi
1995 Recreation and ceremony 750 41.8 mi
2015 Arson/incendiarism 674 13.1 mi
2016 Arson/incendiarism 647 36.7 mi
1999 Arson/incendiarism 623 40.5 mi
2014 Arson/incendiarism 615 39.5 mi
2010 Arson/incendiarism 398 25.7 mi
5d Top ZIPs

Where in Freeland do fires concentrate?

Top 2 ZIP codes by NFIRS incident count across 2021–2025. Each ZIP has its own fire profile — dive in for neighborhood-level context.

#ZIP5-yr incidents 
1 18224 333
2 21053 1
5e Peer cities

Cities similar to Freeland

Six Pennsylvania cities with population within ±25% of Freeland. Useful comparison targets — same state, similar size, different fire profile.

06 First responders

Who responds in Freeland?

3 departments report to NFIRS for incidents in Freeland.

Fearnots Vol Fire Co
301 Cedar St
FDID 40019Volunteer
East Berwick Hose Company No 2
CENTRE STREET
FDID 40012
Freeland Fire Department
Centre and Walnut ST
FDID 40021
07 Stay prepared

Before the next Red Flag day.

A 30-minute weekend can cut your home's exposure substantially. These four checklists are a good starting point.

About this data

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.