In 2025, fire departments serving Montoursville responded to 24 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 54% of all calls.
Mar peaks. Feb dips. Watch for the typical fall climb starting in October.
165 incidents 2021–2025. Peak year was 2023. $10K cumulative property loss.
| Year | Incidents | YoY | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2021 | 32 | — | |
| 2022 | 20 | -37.5% | |
| 2023 | 52 | +160.0% | |
| 2024 | 37 | -28.8% | |
| 2025 | 24 | -35.1% |
For the 3 building fires Montoursville departments responded to in 2025, here's how they were classified once investigators were finished.
NFIRS Area of Origin (AREA_ORIG) for the 45 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 | 6 | 13.3% | |
| 2 | Cooking area, kitchen | 5 | 11.1% | |
| 3 | Outside area, other | 5 | 11.1% | |
| 4 | Bathroom, checkroom, lavatory, locker room | 3 | 6.7% | |
| 5 | Engine area, running gear, wheel area | 3 | 6.7% | |
| 6 | Function area, other | 2 | 4.4% | |
| 7 | Laundry area, wash house (laundry) | 2 | 4.4% | |
| 8 | Chute/container - trash, rubbish, waste | 2 | 4.4% | |
| 9 | Equipment or service area, other | 2 | 4.4% | |
| 10 | Courtyard, patio, porch, terrace | 2 | 4.4% | |
| 11 | All other areas | 13 | 28.9% |
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 Montoursville mix.
| # | Heat source | Count | Share | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Undetermined | 18 | 40.0% | |
| 2 | Arcing | 5 | 11.1% | |
| 3 | Heat source: other | 4 | 8.9% | |
| 4 | Radiated, conducted heat from operating equipment | 3 | 6.7% | |
| 5 | Heat from powered equipment, other | 2 | 4.4% | |
| 6 | Hot or smoldering object, other | 2 | 4.4% | |
| 7 | Hot ember or ash | 2 | 4.4% | |
| 8 | Candle | 2 | 4.4% | |
| 9 | Heat from direct flame, convection currents | 2 | 4.4% | |
| 10 | Spark, ember or flame from operating equipment | 1 | 2.2% | |
| 11 | All other sources | 4 | 8.9% |
Per-capita rates let us compare apples to apples. Montoursville sits below the national average for incidents per resident.
Top 25 wildfires (1992+) in the FPA-FOD ignitions database, scaled by acres. 10,237 acres burned in this 50-mile radius. Each dot is a fire — bigger dots burned more land.
| Year | Cause | Acres | Distance | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2008 | Arson/incendiarism | 4,000 | 33.0 mi | |
| 2006 | Arson/incendiarism | 1,329 | 46.7 mi | |
| 2006 | Arson/incendiarism | 917 | 48.7 mi | |
| 2006 | Arson/incendiarism | 605 | 26.2 mi | |
| 2001 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 500 | 42.3 mi | |
| 2006 | Arson/incendiarism | 348 | 46.7 mi | |
| 2017 | Arson/incendiarism | 282 | 48.2 mi | |
| 2005 | Arson/incendiarism | 263 | 47.7 mi | |
| 2008 | Recreation and ceremony | 193 | 47.2 mi | |
| 2015 | Arson/incendiarism | 184 | 46.8 mi | |
| 2002 | Arson/incendiarism | 183 | 44.4 mi | |
| 2010 | Natural | 161 | 18.1 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 | 17754 | 165 |
Six Pennsylvania cities with population within ±25% of Montoursville. Useful comparison targets — same state, similar size, different fire profile.
1 departments report to NFIRS for incidents in Montoursville.
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.