In 2025, fire departments serving Mercersburg responded to 34 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 85% of all calls.
Dec peaks. Oct dips. Watch for the typical fall climb starting in October.
234 incidents 2021–2025. Peak year was 2021. $250K cumulative property loss.
| Year | Incidents | YoY | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2021 | 65 | — | |
| 2022 | 52 | -20.0% | |
| 2023 | 38 | -26.9% | |
| 2024 | 45 | +18.4% | |
| 2025 | 34 | -24.4% |
For the 24 building fires Mercersburg departments responded to in 2025, here's how they were classified once investigators were finished.
NFIRS Area of Origin (AREA_ORIG) for the 24 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 | 7 | 29.2% | |
| 2 | Cooking area, kitchen | 3 | 12.5% | |
| 3 | Wall surface: exterior | 2 | 8.3% | |
| 4 | Outside area, other | 2 | 8.3% | |
| 5 | Open area - outside; included are farmland, field | 2 | 8.3% | |
| 6 | Other | 1 | 4.2% | |
| 7 | Egress/exit, other | 1 | 4.2% | |
| 8 | Function area, other | 1 | 4.2% | |
| 9 | Exterior balcony, unenclosed porch | 1 | 4.2% | |
| 10 | Ceiling & floor assembly, crawl space b/t stories | 1 | 4.2% | |
| 11 | All other areas | 3 | 12.5% |
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 Mercersburg mix.
| # | Heat source | Count | Share | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Undetermined | 12 | 50.0% | |
| 2 | Arcing | 4 | 16.7% | |
| 3 | Heat from powered equipment, other | 3 | 12.5% | |
| 4 | Heat, spark from friction | 1 | 4.2% | |
| 5 | Match | 1 | 4.2% | |
| 6 | Heat from direct flame, convection currents | 1 | 4.2% | |
| 7 | Radiated heat from another fire | 1 | 4.2% | |
| 8 | Conducted heat from another fire | 1 | 4.2% |
Per-capita rates let us compare apples to apples. Mercersburg sits above the national average for incidents per resident.
Top 25 wildfires (1992+) in the FPA-FOD ignitions database, scaled by acres. 5,778 acres burned in this 50-mile radius. Each dot is a fire — bigger dots burned more land.
| Year | Cause | Acres | Distance | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2001 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 1,000 | 9.1 mi | |
| 2014 | Arson/incendiarism | 888 | 40.4 mi | |
| 2005 | Railroad operations and maintenance | 755 | 47.1 mi | |
| 2008 | Railroad operations and maintenance | 480 | 45.9 mi | |
| 1996 | Recreation and ceremony | 405 | 48.8 mi | |
| 1996 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 400 | 49.6 mi | |
| 2016 | Arson/incendiarism | 345 | 25.2 mi | |
| 2000 | Natural | 300 | 32.1 mi | |
| 1995 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 150 | 46.2 mi | |
| 2012 | Arson/incendiarism | 145 | 11.0 mi | |
| 2006 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 105 | 47.7 mi | |
| 2009 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 76 | 46.5 mi |
Top 5 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 Mercersburg. Useful comparison targets — same state, similar size, different fire profile.
1 departments report to NFIRS for incidents in Mercersburg.
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.