In 2025, fire departments serving Lower Burrell responded to 106 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 70% of all calls.
Jul peaks. Oct dips. Watch for the typical fall climb starting in October.
800 incidents 2021–2025. Peak year was 2023. 1 civilian deaths.
| Year | Incidents | YoY | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2021 | 132 | — | |
| 2022 | 163 | +23.5% | |
| 2023 | 228 | +39.9% | |
| 2024 | 171 | -25.0% | |
| 2025 | 106 | -38.0% |
For the 14 building fires Lower Burrell departments responded to in 2025, here's how they were classified once investigators were finished.
NFIRS Area of Origin (AREA_ORIG) for the 86 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 | 18.6% | |
| 2 | Undetermined | 12 | 14.0% | |
| 3 | Other | 10 | 11.6% | |
| 4 | Cooking area, kitchen | 9 | 10.5% | |
| 5 | Wildland, woods | 6 | 7.0% | |
| 6 | Courtyard, patio, porch, terrace | 5 | 5.8% | |
| 7 | Open area - outside; included are farmland, field | 5 | 5.8% | |
| 8 | Bedroom - < 5 persons; included are jail or prison | 3 | 3.5% | |
| 9 | Highway, parking lot, street: on or near | 3 | 3.5% | |
| 10 | Vehicle area, other | 2 | 2.3% | |
| 11 | All other areas | 15 | 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 Lower Burrell mix.
| # | Heat source | Count | Share | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Undetermined | 38 | 44.2% | |
| 2 | Arcing | 7 | 8.1% | |
| 3 | Hot ember or ash | 7 | 8.1% | |
| 4 | Heat source: other | 6 | 7.0% | |
| 5 | Spark, ember or flame from operating equipment | 5 | 5.8% | |
| 6 | Radiated, conducted heat from operating equipment | 5 | 5.8% | |
| 7 | Hot or smoldering object, other | 4 | 4.7% | |
| 8 | Cigarette | 3 | 3.5% | |
| 9 | Cigarette lighter | 2 | 2.3% | |
| 10 | Heat from powered equipment, other | 1 | 1.2% | |
| 11 | All other sources | 8 | 9.3% |
Per-capita rates let us compare apples to apples. Lower Burrell sits above the national average for incidents per resident.
Top 25 wildfires (1992+) in the FPA-FOD ignitions database, scaled by acres. 1,905 acres burned in this 50-mile radius. Each dot is a fire — bigger dots burned more land.
| Year | Cause | Acres | Distance | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2010 | Equipment and vehicle use | 260 | 38.9 mi | |
| 2016 | Arson/incendiarism | 190 | 39.6 mi | |
| 2016 | Arson/incendiarism | 173 | 29.2 mi | |
| 2003 | Railroad operations and maintenance | 173 | 44.0 mi | |
| 2003 | Equipment and vehicle use | 152 | 27.7 mi | |
| 2013 | Debris and open burning | 106 | 39.1 mi | |
| 2005 | Arson/incendiarism | 105 | 41.7 mi | |
| 2009 | Debris and open burning | 90 | 45.0 mi | |
| 2002 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 76 | 37.1 mi | |
| 2005 | Arson/incendiarism | 60 | 42.0 mi | |
| 1992 | Arson/incendiarism | 48 | 46.4 mi | |
| 2006 | Debris and open burning | 45 | 33.8 mi |
Top 7 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 Lower Burrell. Useful comparison targets — same state, similar size, different fire profile.
2 departments report to NFIRS for incidents in Lower Burrell.
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.