In 2025, fire departments serving Gettysburg responded to 55 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 73% of all calls.
Sep peaks. Nov dips. Watch for the typical fall climb starting in October.
450 incidents 2021–2025. Peak year was 2021. $1.5M cumulative property loss. 2 civilian deaths.
| Year | Incidents | YoY | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2021 | 145 | — | |
| 2022 | 87 | -40.0% | |
| 2023 | 83 | -4.6% | |
| 2024 | 80 | -3.6% | |
| 2025 | 55 | -31.2% |
For the 28 building fires Gettysburg departments responded to in 2025, here's how they were classified once investigators were finished.
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 origin | Count | Share | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Outside area, other | 14 | 23.7% | |
| 2 | Undetermined | 8 | 13.6% | |
| 3 | Engine area, running gear, wheel area | 7 | 11.9% | |
| 4 | Cooking area, kitchen | 5 | 8.5% | |
| 5 | Highway, parking lot, street: on or near | 4 | 6.8% | |
| 6 | Storage area, other | 3 | 5.1% | |
| 7 | Vehicle area, other | 3 | 5.1% | |
| 8 | Other | 2 | 3.4% | |
| 9 | Function area, other | 1 | 1.7% | |
| 10 | Bedroom - < 5 persons; included are jail or prison | 1 | 1.7% | |
| 11 | All other areas | 11 | 18.6% |
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 Gettysburg mix.
| # | Heat source | Count | Share | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Undetermined | 27 | 45.8% | |
| 2 | Hot ember or ash | 5 | 8.5% | |
| 3 | Heat from powered equipment, other | 4 | 6.8% | |
| 4 | Hot or smoldering object, other | 4 | 6.8% | |
| 5 | Cigarette | 4 | 6.8% | |
| 6 | Arcing | 3 | 5.1% | |
| 7 | Heat, spark from friction | 2 | 3.4% | |
| 8 | Heat source: other | 1 | 1.7% | |
| 9 | Spark, ember or flame from operating equipment | 1 | 1.7% | |
| 10 | Heat from other open flame or smoking materials | 1 | 1.7% | |
| 11 | All other sources | 7 | 11.9% |
Per-capita rates let us compare apples to apples. Gettysburg sits below the national average for incidents per resident.
7 fire-related casualties recorded in NFIRS Module 11 across the 2021–2025 window. Age, gender, and severity are coarse-binned — no individual identification possible.
| Age | Count | |
|---|---|---|
| 0-9 | 0 | |
| 10-19 | 1 | |
| 20-29 | 2 | |
| 30-39 | 4 | |
| 40-49 | 0 | |
| 50-59 | 0 | |
| 60-69 | 0 | |
| 70-79 | 0 | |
| 80+ | 0 |
Top 25 wildfires (1992+) in the FPA-FOD ignitions database, scaled by acres. 2,630 acres burned in this 50-mile radius. Each dot is a fire — bigger dots burned more land.
| Year | Cause | Acres | Distance | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2001 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 1,000 | 38.9 mi | |
| 2011 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 461 | 48.2 mi | |
| 2012 | Arson/incendiarism | 145 | 42.2 mi | |
| 2012 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 100 | 49.0 mi | |
| 2018 | Debris and open burning | 76 | 43.8 mi | |
| 2016 | Arson/incendiarism | 72 | 31.4 mi | |
| 2016 | Recreation and ceremony | 58 | 44.4 mi | |
| 2015 | Debris and open burning | 55 | 39.8 mi | |
| 2006 | Arson/incendiarism | 55 | 15.7 mi | |
| 2009 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 48 | 44.3 mi | |
| 2011 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 48 | 25.5 mi | |
| 2018 | Debris and open burning | 45 | 49.4 mi |
Top 1 ZIP codes by NFIRS incident count across 2021–2025. Each ZIP has its own fire profile — dive in for neighborhood-level context.
| # | ZIP | 5-yr incidents | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 17325 | 449 |
Six Pennsylvania cities with population within ±25% of Gettysburg. Useful comparison targets — same state, similar size, different fire profile.
4 departments report to NFIRS for incidents in Gettysburg.
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.