In 2025, fire departments serving Mercer responded to 32 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 87% of all calls.
Mar peaks. Feb dips. Watch for the typical fall climb starting in October.
248 incidents 2021–2025. Peak year was 2021. $3K cumulative property loss.
| Year | Incidents | YoY | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2021 | 72 | — | |
| 2022 | 44 | -38.9% | |
| 2023 | 60 | +36.4% | |
| 2024 | 40 | -33.3% | |
| 2025 | 32 | -20.0% |
For the 17 building fires Mercer departments responded to in 2025, here's how they were classified once investigators were finished.
NFIRS Area of Origin (AREA_ORIG) for the 57 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 | 15 | 26.3% | |
| 2 | Undetermined | 7 | 12.3% | |
| 3 | Highway, parking lot, street: on or near | 5 | 8.8% | |
| 4 | Cooking area, kitchen | 4 | 7.0% | |
| 5 | Other | 3 | 5.3% | |
| 6 | Storage area, other | 3 | 5.3% | |
| 7 | Structural area, other | 3 | 5.3% | |
| 8 | Open area - outside; included are farmland, field | 3 | 5.3% | |
| 9 | Engine area, running gear, wheel area | 2 | 3.5% | |
| 10 | Egress/exit, other | 1 | 1.8% | |
| 11 | All other areas | 11 | 19.3% |
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 Mercer mix.
| # | Heat source | Count | Share | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Undetermined | 16 | 28.1% | |
| 2 | Radiated, conducted heat from operating equipment | 8 | 14.0% | |
| 3 | Arcing | 8 | 14.0% | |
| 4 | Hot ember or ash | 8 | 14.0% | |
| 5 | Heat source: other | 5 | 8.8% | |
| 6 | Heat from powered equipment, other | 2 | 3.5% | |
| 7 | Hot or smoldering object, other | 2 | 3.5% | |
| 8 | Cigarette lighter | 2 | 3.5% | |
| 9 | Cigarette | 1 | 1.8% | |
| 10 | Match | 1 | 1.8% | |
| 11 | All other sources | 4 | 7.0% |
Per-capita rates let us compare apples to apples. Mercer sits above the national average for incidents per resident.
Top 25 wildfires (1992+) in the FPA-FOD ignitions database, scaled by acres. 1,564 acres burned in this 50-mile radius. Each dot is a fire — bigger dots burned more land.
| Year | Cause | Acres | Distance | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2003 | Debris and open burning | 342 | 21.1 mi | |
| 2010 | Equipment and vehicle use | 260 | 38.8 mi | |
| 2003 | Equipment and vehicle use | 152 | 37.1 mi | |
| 2013 | Debris and open burning | 106 | 21.8 mi | |
| 2003 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 78 | 45.4 mi | |
| 2002 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 76 | 42.7 mi | |
| 2016 | Debris and open burning | 47 | 15.4 mi | |
| 2006 | Debris and open burning | 45 | 27.3 mi | |
| 2003 | Debris and open burning | 41 | 19.2 mi | |
| 2006 | Equipment and vehicle use | 38 | 16.3 mi | |
| 2001 | Debris and open burning | 33 | 49.3 mi | |
| 2016 | Debris and open burning | 30 | 21.3 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 Mercer. Useful comparison targets — same state, similar size, different fire profile.
2 departments report to NFIRS for incidents in Mercer.
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.