In 2025, fire departments serving Hopewell responded to 17 fire and hazmat incidents — from cooking fires to gas leaks to a single $100K building blaze. Here's the full picture.
Carbon monoxide incident lead by count. Building fires lead by dollars. Together the top five categories make up about 71% of all calls.
Jul peaks. Jan dips. Watch for the typical fall climb starting in October.
65 incidents 2021–2025. Peak year was 2024. $151K cumulative property loss.
| Year | Incidents | YoY | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2021 | 9 | — | |
| 2022 | 9 | +0.0% | |
| 2023 | 11 | +22.2% | |
| 2024 | 19 | +72.7% | |
| 2025 | 17 | -10.5% |
For the 1 building fires Hopewell departments responded to in 2025, here's how they were classified once investigators were finished.
NFIRS Area of Origin (AREA_ORIG) for the 14 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 | Vehicle area, other | 3 | 21.4% | |
| 2 | Outside area, other | 3 | 21.4% | |
| 3 | Bedroom - < 5 persons; included are jail or prison | 2 | 14.3% | |
| 4 | Other | 1 | 7.1% | |
| 5 | Entrance way, lobby | 1 | 7.1% | |
| 6 | Duct: hvac, cable, exhaust, heating, or AC | 1 | 7.1% | |
| 7 | Incinerator area | 1 | 7.1% | |
| 8 | Ceiling & floor assembly, crawl space b/t stories | 1 | 7.1% | |
| 9 | Engine area, running gear, wheel area | 1 | 7.1% |
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 Hopewell mix.
| # | Heat source | Count | Share | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Undetermined | 6 | 42.9% | |
| 2 | Heat from powered equipment, other | 2 | 14.3% | |
| 3 | Spark, ember or flame from operating equipment | 2 | 14.3% | |
| 4 | Radiated, conducted heat from operating equipment | 1 | 7.1% | |
| 5 | Arcing | 1 | 7.1% | |
| 6 | Heat from other open flame or smoking materials | 1 | 7.1% | |
| 7 | Match | 1 | 7.1% |
Largest single-incident property losses reported by Hopewell departments in 2025. These 3 fires alone account for 100% of the city's annual total.
| # | Property loss | Type | Severity | Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | $100,000 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
| 2 | $25,000 | Passenger vehicle fire | Significant | Investigated |
| 3 | $20,000 | Passenger vehicle fire | Significant | Investigated |
Per-capita rates let us compare apples to apples. Hopewell sits below the national average for incidents per resident.
Top 25 wildfires (1992+) in the FPA-FOD ignitions database, scaled by acres. 1,152 acres burned in this 50-mile radius. Each dot is a fire — bigger dots burned more land.
| Year | Cause | Acres | Distance | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2014 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 175 | 48.4 mi | |
| 2003 | Equipment and vehicle use | 152 | 43.8 mi | |
| 2013 | Debris and open burning | 106 | 22.7 mi | |
| 2003 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 78 | 33.0 mi | |
| 2014 | Debris and open burning | 60 | 49.7 mi | |
| 1992 | Arson/incendiarism | 48 | 22.2 mi | |
| 2006 | Debris and open burning | 45 | 42.9 mi | |
| 2003 | Debris and open burning | 41 | 45.7 mi | |
| 2006 | Equipment and vehicle use | 38 | 45.8 mi | |
| 2015 | Arson/incendiarism | 35 | 36.9 mi | |
| 2005 | Debris and open burning | 31 | 42.5 mi | |
| 2014 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 30 | 25.8 mi |
Top 6 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 Hopewell. Useful comparison targets — same state, similar size, different fire profile.
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.