In 2025, fire departments serving Imperial responded to 14 fire and hazmat incidents — from cooking fires to gas leaks to a single $218K building blaze. Here's the full picture.
Building fires lead by count. Building fires lead by dollars. Together the top five categories make up about 71% of all calls.
Jun peaks. Feb dips. Watch for the typical fall climb starting in October.
94 incidents 2021–2025. Peak year was 2022. $241K cumulative property loss.
| Year | Incidents | YoY | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2021 | 16 | — | |
| 2022 | 25 | +56.2% | |
| 2023 | 22 | -12.0% | |
| 2024 | 17 | -22.7% | |
| 2025 | 14 | -17.6% |
For the 6 building fires Imperial departments responded to in 2025, here's how they were classified once investigators were finished.
NFIRS Area of Origin (AREA_ORIG) for the 18 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 | 6 | 33.3% | |
| 2 | Structural area, other | 2 | 11.1% | |
| 3 | Engine area, running gear, wheel area | 2 | 11.1% | |
| 4 | Other | 1 | 5.6% | |
| 5 | Bedroom - < 5 persons; included are jail or prison | 1 | 5.6% | |
| 6 | Duct: hvac, cable, exhaust, heating, or AC | 1 | 5.6% | |
| 7 | Substructure area or space, crawl space | 1 | 5.6% | |
| 8 | Wall assembly | 1 | 5.6% | |
| 9 | Roof surface: exterior | 1 | 5.6% | |
| 10 | Highway, parking lot, street: on or near | 1 | 5.6% | |
| 11 | All other areas | 1 | 5.6% |
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 Imperial mix.
| # | Heat source | Count | Share | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Undetermined | 11 | 61.1% | |
| 2 | Spark, ember or flame from operating equipment | 2 | 11.1% | |
| 3 | Heat from powered equipment, other | 1 | 5.6% | |
| 4 | Arcing | 1 | 5.6% | |
| 5 | Hot ember or ash | 1 | 5.6% | |
| 6 | Chemical reaction | 1 | 5.6% | |
| 7 | Lightning | 1 | 5.6% |
Largest single-incident property losses reported by Imperial departments in 2025. These 2 fires alone account for 100% of the city's annual total.
| # | Property loss | Type | Severity | Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | $218,400 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
| 2 | $22,400 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
Per-capita rates let us compare apples to apples. Imperial sits below the national average for incidents per resident.
Top 25 wildfires (1992+) in the FPA-FOD ignitions database, scaled by acres. 1,000 acres burned in this 50-mile radius. Each dot is a fire — bigger dots burned more land.
| Year | Cause | Acres | Distance | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2003 | Equipment and vehicle use | 152 | 49.3 mi | |
| 2013 | Debris and open burning | 106 | 32.2 mi | |
| 2003 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 78 | 38.6 mi | |
| 2005 | Arson/incendiarism | 60 | 48.5 mi | |
| 2014 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 49 | 49.7 mi | |
| 1992 | Arson/incendiarism | 48 | 17.0 mi | |
| 2006 | Debris and open burning | 45 | 49.9 mi | |
| 2014 | Arson/incendiarism | 35 | 47.0 mi | |
| 2015 | Arson/incendiarism | 35 | 41.1 mi | |
| 2005 | Debris and open burning | 31 | 40.5 mi | |
| 2014 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 30 | 26.8 mi | |
| 2016 | Debris and open burning | 30 | 38.3 mi |
Top 5 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 Imperial. Useful comparison targets — same state, similar size, different fire profile.
1 departments report to NFIRS for incidents in Imperial.
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.