In 2025, fire departments serving Hershey responded to 15 fire and hazmat incidents — from cooking fires to gas leaks to a single $6K building blaze. Here's the full picture.
Grass fire lead by count. Building fires lead by dollars. Together the top five categories make up about 80% of all calls.
Mar peaks. Jun dips. Watch for the typical fall climb starting in October.
81 incidents 2021–2025. Peak year was 2022. $576K cumulative property loss.
| Year | Incidents | YoY | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2021 | 14 | — | |
| 2022 | 22 | +57.1% | |
| 2023 | 12 | -45.5% | |
| 2024 | 18 | +50.0% | |
| 2025 | 15 | -16.7% |
For the 0 building fires Hershey departments responded to in 2025, here's how they were classified once investigators were finished.
NFIRS Area of Origin (AREA_ORIG) for the 27 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 | Engine area, running gear, wheel area | 12 | 44.4% | |
| 2 | Outside area, other | 3 | 11.1% | |
| 3 | Other | 2 | 7.4% | |
| 4 | Vehicle storage area; garage, carport | 2 | 7.4% | |
| 5 | Undetermined | 2 | 7.4% | |
| 6 | Processing/manufacturing area, workroom | 1 | 3.7% | |
| 7 | Switchgear area, transformer vault | 1 | 3.7% | |
| 8 | Maintenance shop or area, paint shop or area | 1 | 3.7% | |
| 9 | Cargo/trunk area - all vehicles | 1 | 3.7% | |
| 10 | Courtyard, patio, porch, terrace | 1 | 3.7% | |
| 11 | All other areas | 1 | 3.7% |
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 Hershey mix.
| # | Heat source | Count | Share | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Heat source: other | 6 | 22.2% | |
| 2 | Undetermined | 6 | 22.2% | |
| 3 | Radiated, conducted heat from operating equipment | 3 | 11.1% | |
| 4 | Spark, ember or flame from operating equipment | 2 | 7.4% | |
| 5 | Heat, spark from friction | 2 | 7.4% | |
| 6 | Hot ember or ash | 2 | 7.4% | |
| 7 | Heat spread from another fire, other | 2 | 7.4% | |
| 8 | Heat from powered equipment, other | 1 | 3.7% | |
| 9 | Munitions | 1 | 3.7% | |
| 10 | Lightning | 1 | 3.7% | |
| 11 | All other sources | 1 | 3.7% |
Largest single-incident property losses reported by Hershey departments in 2025. These 3 fires alone account for 100% of the city's annual total.
| # | Property loss | Type | Severity | Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | $6,000 | Passenger vehicle fire | Significant | Investigated |
| 2 | $4,000 | Passenger vehicle fire | Significant | Investigated |
| 3 | $500 | Grass fire | Significant | Investigated |
Per-capita rates let us compare apples to apples. Hershey sits above the national average for incidents per resident.
Top 25 wildfires (1992+) in the FPA-FOD ignitions database, scaled by acres. 180,178 acres burned in this 50-mile radius. Each dot is a fire — bigger dots burned more land.
| Year | Cause | Acres | Distance | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2012 | Natural | 60,000 | 49.4 mi | |
| 1995 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 33,000 | 14.3 mi | |
| 2015 | Natural | 23,000 | 34.6 mi | |
| 1999 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 14,000 | 19.7 mi | |
| 2011 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 7,000 | 29.7 mi | |
| 1999 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 6,400 | 24.9 mi | |
| 2010 | Power generation/transmission/distribution | 6,400 | 24.0 mi | |
| 1995 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 3,500 | 28.1 mi | |
| 2012 | Debris and open burning | 3,363 | 44.2 mi | |
| 1994 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 2,500 | 8.8 mi | |
| 1999 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 2,080 | 17.5 mi | |
| 2020 | Equipment and vehicle use | 2,000 | 36.9 mi |
Top 2 ZIP codes by NFIRS incident count across 2021–2025. Each ZIP has its own fire profile — dive in for neighborhood-level context.
Six Nebraska cities with population within ±25% of Hershey. Useful comparison targets — same state, similar size, different fire profile.
1 departments report to NFIRS for incidents in Hershey.
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.