In 2025, fire departments serving Jim Thorpe responded to 48 fire and hazmat incidents . Here's the full picture.
Gas leak (natural gas or LPG) lead by count. Building fires lead by dollars. Together the top five categories make up about 73% of all calls.
Apr peaks. Nov dips. Watch for the typical fall climb starting in October.
259 incidents 2021–2025. Peak year was 2023. 1 civilian deaths.
| Year | Incidents | YoY | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2021 | 46 | — | |
| 2022 | 57 | +23.9% | |
| 2023 | 58 | +1.8% | |
| 2024 | 50 | -13.8% | |
| 2025 | 48 | -4.0% |
For the 8 building fires Jim Thorpe departments responded to in 2025, here's how they were classified once investigators were finished.
NFIRS Area of Origin (AREA_ORIG) for the 76 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 | 16 | 21.1% | |
| 2 | Cooking area, kitchen | 15 | 19.7% | |
| 3 | Wildland, woods | 11 | 14.5% | |
| 4 | Other | 7 | 9.2% | |
| 5 | Engine area, running gear, wheel area | 6 | 7.9% | |
| 6 | Undetermined | 5 | 6.6% | |
| 7 | Common room, den, family room, living room, lounge | 2 | 2.6% | |
| 8 | Laundry area, wash house (laundry) | 2 | 2.6% | |
| 9 | Heating room or area, water heater area | 2 | 2.6% | |
| 10 | Railroad right of way: on or near | 2 | 2.6% | |
| 11 | All other areas | 8 | 10.5% |
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 Jim Thorpe mix.
| # | Heat source | Count | Share | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Hot ember or ash | 22 | 28.9% | |
| 2 | Undetermined | 20 | 26.3% | |
| 3 | Radiated, conducted heat from operating equipment | 9 | 11.8% | |
| 4 | Arcing | 7 | 9.2% | |
| 5 | Heat from powered equipment, other | 4 | 5.3% | |
| 6 | Molten, hot material | 4 | 5.3% | |
| 7 | Heat source: other | 2 | 2.6% | |
| 8 | Spark, ember or flame from operating equipment | 2 | 2.6% | |
| 9 | Hot or smoldering object, other | 2 | 2.6% | |
| 10 | Heat from other open flame or smoking materials | 2 | 2.6% | |
| 11 | All other sources | 2 | 2.6% |
Per-capita rates let us compare apples to apples. Jim Thorpe sits above the national average for incidents per resident.
Top 25 wildfires (1992+) in the FPA-FOD ignitions database, scaled by acres. 22,800 acres burned in this 50-mile radius. Each dot is a fire — bigger dots burned more land.
| Year | Cause | Acres | Distance | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2016 | Arson/incendiarism | 7,949 | 37.6 mi | |
| 2004 | Arson/incendiarism | 2,265 | 27.7 mi | |
| 2009 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 2,126 | 23.6 mi | |
| 2008 | Arson/incendiarism | 995 | 38.8 mi | |
| 2015 | Equipment and vehicle use | 848 | 6.6 mi | |
| 2020 | Arson/incendiarism | 812 | 29.3 mi | |
| 1995 | Recreation and ceremony | 750 | 34.9 mi | |
| 2012 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 741 | 45.5 mi | |
| 2015 | Arson/incendiarism | 674 | 17.7 mi | |
| 2016 | Arson/incendiarism | 647 | 34.3 mi | |
| 1999 | Arson/incendiarism | 623 | 33.7 mi | |
| 2014 | Arson/incendiarism | 615 | 38.7 mi |
Top 1 ZIP codes by NFIRS incident count across 2021–2025. Each ZIP has its own fire profile — dive in for neighborhood-level context.
| # | ZIP | 5-yr incidents | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 18229 | 259 |
Six Pennsylvania cities with population within ±25% of Jim Thorpe. Useful comparison targets — same state, similar size, different fire profile.
2 departments report to NFIRS for incidents in Jim Thorpe.
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.