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2025 Annual Fire Report

Fires in Harveys Lake, Pennsylvania

In 2025, fire departments serving Harveys Lake responded to 21 fire and hazmat incidents . Here's the full picture.

Updated Sep 27, 2026 Grade C+ Peak yr 2023 Luzerne County 2,793 residents 0 reporting departments 296 5-yr

Incomplete 2025 data. Harveys Lake's departments reported 21 incidents to NFIRS for 2025, against about 59 in a typical year, so 2025 figures on this page undercount. The 2021–2025 totals are the better guide.

Total incidents
21
Not comparable with 2024 (incomplete reporting)
Building fires
4
Residential 50% Other 50%
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?

Power line down lead by count. Building fires lead by dollars. Together the top five categories make up about 81% of all calls.

21
Total Incidents
Power line down 7 33.3%
Building fires 4 19.0%
Brush, or brush and grass mixture fire 3 14.3%
Carbon monoxide incident 2 9.5%
Chimney or flue fire, confined to chimney or flue 1 4.8%
All other categories 4 19.0%
02 Seasonality

When do fires happen?

Aug peaks. Sep dips. Watch for the typical fall climb starting in October.

Jan 1
Feb 1
Mar 5
Apr 2
May 1
Jun 1
Jul 2
Aug 8
Sep 0
Oct 0
Nov 0
Dec 0
Fewer
More
2b Five-year trend

Year over year in Harveys Lake

296 incidents 2021–2025. Peak year was 2023.

YearIncidentsYoY 
2021 71 —
2022 58 -18.3%
2023 76 +31.0%
2024 70 -7.9%
2025* 21 —

* Well below Harveys Lake'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 4 building fires Harveys Lake departments responded to in 2025, here's how they were classified once investigators were finished.

Unintentional
33%
1
Cause undetermined
0%
0
Intentional / arson
0%
0
Equipment / heat source failure
67%
2
Under investigation
0%
0
Act of nature (lightning)
0%
0
3b Where fires start

Where do fires start in Harveys Lake?

NFIRS Area of Origin (AREA_ORIG) for the 26 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 Wildland, woods 5 19.2%
2 Other 4 15.4%
3 Cooking area, kitchen 3 11.5%
4 Duct: hvac, cable, exhaust, heating, or AC 3 11.5%
5 Outside area, other 3 11.5%
6 Undetermined 2 7.7%
7 Function area, other 1 3.8%
8 Laundry area, wash house (laundry) 1 3.8%
9 Structural area, other 1 3.8%
10 Exterior balcony, unenclosed porch 1 3.8%
11 All other areas 2 7.7%
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 Harveys Lake mix.

#Heat sourceCountShare 
1 Heat source: other 5 19.2%
2 Undetermined 5 19.2%
3 Spark, ember or flame from operating equipment 4 15.4%
4 Hot ember or ash 2 7.7%
5 Flame/torch used for lighting 2 7.7%
6 Flying brand, ember, spark 2 7.7%
7 Radiated, conducted heat from operating equipment 1 3.8%
8 Arcing 1 3.8%
9 Cigarette 1 3.8%
10 Cigarette lighter 1 3.8%
11 All other sources 2 7.7%
05 How Harveys Lake compares

Harveys Lake vs Pennsylvania vs the nation

Per-capita rates let us compare apples to apples. Harveys Lake sits above the national average for incidents per resident.

7.52
Incidents per 1,000 residents
Harveys Lake
7.52
PA avg
6.49
US avg
7.48
1.43
Building fires per 1,000 residents
Harveys Lake
1.43
PA avg
1.39
US avg
0.85
0
Civilian fire deaths per million
Harveys Lake
0
PA avg
6.3
US avg
5.9
5c Wildfires nearby

Wildfires within 50 mi of Harveys Lake

Top 25 wildfires (1992+) in the FPA-FOD ignitions database, scaled by acres. 21,029 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 45.6 mi
2004 Arson/incendiarism 2,265 37.5 mi
2009 Missing data/not specified/undetermined 2,126 14.3 mi
2008 Arson/incendiarism 995 43.9 mi
2015 Equipment and vehicle use 848 43.9 mi
2020 Arson/incendiarism 812 39.9 mi
2015 Arson/incendiarism 674 24.7 mi
2016 Arson/incendiarism 647 44.5 mi
2014 Arson/incendiarism 615 43.8 mi
2010 Arson/incendiarism 398 19.2 mi
2010 Arson/incendiarism 336 19.2 mi
2014 Arson/incendiarism 328 26.1 mi
5d Top ZIPs

Where in Harveys Lake do fires concentrate?

Top 5 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 18618 284
2 18657 8
3 18612 2
4 18615 1
5 18644 1
5e Peer cities

Cities similar to Harveys Lake

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

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.