In 2025, fire departments serving Irwin responded to 177 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 72% of all calls.
Jun peaks. Dec dips. Watch for the typical fall climb starting in October.
1,130 incidents 2021–2025. Peak year was 2022. $400 cumulative property loss.
| Year | Incidents | YoY | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2021 | 211 | — | |
| 2022 | 302 | +43.1% | |
| 2023 | 271 | -10.3% | |
| 2024 | 169 | -37.6% | |
| 2025 | 177 | +4.7% |
For the 44 building fires Irwin departments responded to in 2025, here's how they were classified once investigators were finished.
NFIRS Area of Origin (AREA_ORIG) for the 125 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 | Undetermined | 36 | 28.8% | |
| 2 | Cooking area, kitchen | 15 | 12.0% | |
| 3 | Outside area, other | 13 | 10.4% | |
| 4 | Common room, den, family room, living room, lounge | 10 | 8.0% | |
| 5 | Open area - outside; included are farmland, field | 9 | 7.2% | |
| 6 | Engine area, running gear, wheel area | 6 | 4.8% | |
| 7 | Bedroom - < 5 persons; included are jail or prison | 5 | 4.0% | |
| 8 | Vehicle area, other | 3 | 2.4% | |
| 9 | Operator/passenger area of transportation equip. | 3 | 2.4% | |
| 10 | Wildland, woods | 3 | 2.4% | |
| 11 | All other areas | 22 | 17.6% |
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 Irwin mix.
| # | Heat source | Count | Share | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Undetermined | 52 | 41.6% | |
| 2 | Arcing | 15 | 12.0% | |
| 3 | Heat from powered equipment, other | 12 | 9.6% | |
| 4 | Heat source: other | 8 | 6.4% | |
| 5 | Hot or smoldering object, other | 5 | 4.0% | |
| 6 | Heat from other open flame or smoking materials | 4 | 3.2% | |
| 7 | Cigarette lighter | 4 | 3.2% | |
| 8 | Heat from direct flame, convection currents | 4 | 3.2% | |
| 9 | Match | 3 | 2.4% | |
| 10 | Conducted heat from another fire | 3 | 2.4% | |
| 11 | All other sources | 15 | 12.0% |
Per-capita rates let us compare apples to apples. Irwin sits above the national average for incidents per resident.
Top 25 wildfires (1992+) in the FPA-FOD ignitions database, scaled by acres. 1,661 acres burned in this 50-mile radius. Each dot is a fire — bigger dots burned more land.
| Year | Cause | Acres | Distance | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2016 | Smoking | 394 | 40.8 mi | |
| 2016 | Arson/incendiarism | 190 | 37.2 mi | |
| 2016 | Arson/incendiarism | 173 | 23.3 mi | |
| 2003 | Equipment and vehicle use | 152 | 45.1 mi | |
| 2005 | Arson/incendiarism | 105 | 42.6 mi | |
| 2009 | Debris and open burning | 90 | 33.9 mi | |
| 2005 | Arson/incendiarism | 60 | 24.5 mi | |
| 1992 | Arson/incendiarism | 48 | 44.1 mi | |
| 2013 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 36 | 31.2 mi | |
| 2014 | Arson/incendiarism | 35 | 23.3 mi | |
| 2020 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 35 | 47.3 mi | |
| 2003 | Railroad operations and maintenance | 34 | 49.2 mi |
Top 10 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 Irwin. Useful comparison targets — same state, similar size, different fire profile.
2 departments report to NFIRS for incidents in Irwin.
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.