In 2025, fire departments serving Freeport responded to 36 fire and hazmat incidents . Here's the full picture.
Building fires lead by count. Building fires lead by dollars. Together the top five categories make up about 72% of all calls.
Jun peaks. Feb dips. Watch for the typical fall climb starting in October.
257 incidents 2021–2025. Peak year was 2024.
| Year | Incidents | YoY | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2021 | 53 | — | |
| 2022 | 45 | -15.1% | |
| 2023 | 44 | -2.2% | |
| 2024 | 79 | +79.5% | |
| 2025 | 36 | -54.4% |
For the 15 building fires Freeport departments responded to in 2025, here's how they were classified once investigators were finished.
NFIRS Area of Origin (AREA_ORIG) for the 66 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 | 15 | 22.7% | |
| 2 | Open area - outside; included are farmland, field | 11 | 16.7% | |
| 3 | Undetermined | 7 | 10.6% | |
| 4 | Wildland, woods | 6 | 9.1% | |
| 5 | Cooking area, kitchen | 5 | 7.6% | |
| 6 | Other | 4 | 6.1% | |
| 7 | Storage area, other | 3 | 4.5% | |
| 8 | Bedroom - < 5 persons; included are jail or prison | 2 | 3.0% | |
| 9 | Laundry area, wash house (laundry) | 2 | 3.0% | |
| 10 | Entrance way, lobby | 1 | 1.5% | |
| 11 | All other areas | 10 | 15.2% |
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 Freeport mix.
| # | Heat source | Count | Share | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Undetermined | 19 | 28.8% | |
| 2 | Hot ember or ash | 9 | 13.6% | |
| 3 | Heat from powered equipment, other | 8 | 12.1% | |
| 4 | Arcing | 7 | 10.6% | |
| 5 | Heat source: other | 6 | 9.1% | |
| 6 | Heat from other open flame or smoking materials | 3 | 4.5% | |
| 7 | Radiated, conducted heat from operating equipment | 2 | 3.0% | |
| 8 | Heat, spark from friction | 2 | 3.0% | |
| 9 | Candle | 2 | 3.0% | |
| 10 | Flying brand, ember, spark | 2 | 3.0% | |
| 11 | All other sources | 6 | 9.1% |
Per-capita rates let us compare apples to apples. Freeport sits above the national average for incidents per resident.
Top 25 wildfires (1992+) in the FPA-FOD ignitions database, scaled by acres. 2,223 acres burned in this 50-mile radius. Each dot is a fire — bigger dots burned more land.
| Year | Cause | Acres | Distance | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2003 | Debris and open burning | 342 | 44.2 mi | |
| 2010 | Equipment and vehicle use | 260 | 31.8 mi | |
| 2016 | Arson/incendiarism | 190 | 40.9 mi | |
| 2016 | Arson/incendiarism | 173 | 32.5 mi | |
| 2003 | Railroad operations and maintenance | 173 | 39.7 mi | |
| 2003 | Equipment and vehicle use | 152 | 20.5 mi | |
| 2013 | Debris and open burning | 106 | 36.8 mi | |
| 2005 | Arson/incendiarism | 105 | 41.5 mi | |
| 2009 | Debris and open burning | 90 | 49.2 mi | |
| 2002 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 76 | 30.1 mi | |
| 2005 | Arson/incendiarism | 60 | 48.6 mi | |
| 2016 | Debris and open burning | 47 | 46.9 mi |
Top 3 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 Freeport. Useful comparison targets — same state, similar size, different fire profile.
1 departments report to NFIRS for incidents in Freeport.
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.