In 2025, fire departments serving Liberty responded to 21 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 86% of all calls.
Aug peaks. Feb dips. Watch for the typical fall climb starting in October.
135 incidents 2021–2025. Peak year was 2021.
| Year | Incidents | YoY | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2021 | 34 | — | |
| 2022 | 27 | -20.6% | |
| 2023 | 24 | -11.1% | |
| 2024 | 29 | +20.8% | |
| 2025 | 21 | -27.6% |
For the 2 building fires Liberty departments responded to in 2025, here's how they were classified once investigators were finished.
NFIRS Area of Origin (AREA_ORIG) for the 23 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 | 5 | 21.7% | |
| 2 | Cooking area, kitchen | 3 | 13.0% | |
| 3 | Vehicle area, other | 3 | 13.0% | |
| 4 | Other | 2 | 8.7% | |
| 5 | Assembly area - less than 100 persons | 1 | 4.3% | |
| 6 | Function area, other | 1 | 4.3% | |
| 7 | Storage area, other | 1 | 4.3% | |
| 8 | Attic: vacant, crawl space above top story, cupola | 1 | 4.3% | |
| 9 | Operator/passenger area of transportation equip. | 1 | 4.3% | |
| 10 | Cargo/trunk area - all vehicles | 1 | 4.3% | |
| 11 | All other areas | 4 | 17.4% |
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 Liberty mix.
| # | Heat source | Count | Share | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Undetermined | 13 | 56.5% | |
| 2 | Radiated, conducted heat from operating equipment | 2 | 8.7% | |
| 3 | Hot or smoldering object, other | 2 | 8.7% | |
| 4 | Heat source: other | 1 | 4.3% | |
| 5 | Heat from powered equipment, other | 1 | 4.3% | |
| 6 | Hot ember or ash | 1 | 4.3% | |
| 7 | Fireworks | 1 | 4.3% | |
| 8 | Heat from other open flame or smoking materials | 1 | 4.3% | |
| 9 | Match | 1 | 4.3% |
Per-capita rates let us compare apples to apples. Liberty sits above the national average for incidents per resident.
Top 25 wildfires (1992+) in the FPA-FOD ignitions database, scaled by acres. 1,646 acres burned in this 50-mile radius. Each dot is a fire — bigger dots burned more land.
| Year | Cause | Acres | Distance | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2016 | Smoking | 394 | 41.6 mi | |
| 2016 | Arson/incendiarism | 190 | 45.6 mi | |
| 2016 | Arson/incendiarism | 173 | 31.7 mi | |
| 2003 | Equipment and vehicle use | 152 | 46.8 mi | |
| 2013 | Debris and open burning | 106 | 47.4 mi | |
| 2009 | Debris and open burning | 90 | 41.7 mi | |
| 2005 | Arson/incendiarism | 60 | 28.1 mi | |
| 1992 | Arson/incendiarism | 48 | 35.7 mi | |
| 2013 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 36 | 39.5 mi | |
| 2014 | Arson/incendiarism | 35 | 26.7 mi | |
| 2016 | Railroad operations and maintenance | 30 | 30.6 mi | |
| 2014 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 30 | 48.9 mi |
Top 4 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 Liberty. Useful comparison targets — same state, similar size, different fire profile.
1 departments report to NFIRS for incidents in Liberty.
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.