In 2025, fire departments serving Mount Carmel responded to 72 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.
Aug peaks. Oct dips. Watch for the typical fall climb starting in October.
592 incidents 2021–2025. Peak year was 2024. $574K cumulative property loss.
| Year | Incidents | YoY | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2021 | 138 | — | |
| 2022 | 122 | -11.6% | |
| 2023 | 112 | -8.2% | |
| 2024 | 148 | +32.1% | |
| 2025 | 72 | -51.4% |
For the 17 building fires Mount Carmel departments responded to in 2025, here's how they were classified once investigators were finished.
NFIRS Area of Origin (AREA_ORIG) for the 127 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 | 45 | 35.4% | |
| 2 | Outside area, other | 18 | 14.2% | |
| 3 | Cooking area, kitchen | 12 | 9.4% | |
| 4 | Other | 10 | 7.9% | |
| 5 | Heating room or area, water heater area | 10 | 7.9% | |
| 6 | Bedroom - < 5 persons; included are jail or prison | 7 | 5.5% | |
| 7 | Corridor, mall | 4 | 3.1% | |
| 8 | Storage area, other | 2 | 1.6% | |
| 9 | Equipment or service area, other | 2 | 1.6% | |
| 10 | Engine area, running gear, wheel area | 2 | 1.6% | |
| 11 | All other areas | 15 | 11.8% |
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 Mount Carmel mix.
| # | Heat source | Count | Share | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Undetermined | 81 | 63.8% | |
| 2 | Heat source: other | 7 | 5.5% | |
| 3 | Spark, ember or flame from operating equipment | 5 | 3.9% | |
| 4 | Arcing | 5 | 3.9% | |
| 5 | Cigarette lighter | 5 | 3.9% | |
| 6 | Heat from powered equipment, other | 4 | 3.1% | |
| 7 | Radiated, conducted heat from operating equipment | 4 | 3.1% | |
| 8 | Heat, spark from friction | 3 | 2.4% | |
| 9 | Hot ember or ash | 3 | 2.4% | |
| 10 | Cigarette | 3 | 2.4% | |
| 11 | All other sources | 7 | 5.5% |
Per-capita rates let us compare apples to apples. Mount Carmel sits above the national average for incidents per resident.
Top 25 wildfires (1992+) in the FPA-FOD ignitions database, scaled by acres. 8,999 acres burned in this 50-mile radius. Each dot is a fire — bigger dots burned more land.
| Year | Cause | Acres | Distance | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2009 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 2,126 | 39.8 mi | |
| 2006 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 935 | 26.8 mi | |
| 2015 | Equipment and vehicle use | 848 | 37.7 mi | |
| 2015 | Arson/incendiarism | 674 | 44.2 mi | |
| 2010 | Arson/incendiarism | 336 | 35.5 mi | |
| 2014 | Arson/incendiarism | 328 | 34.9 mi | |
| 2020 | Railroad operations and maintenance | 308 | 36.2 mi | |
| 2017 | Arson/incendiarism | 282 | 13.5 mi | |
| 2005 | Arson/incendiarism | 263 | 12.5 mi | |
| 2005 | Arson/incendiarism | 258 | 33.0 mi | |
| 2002 | Arson/incendiarism | 257 | 33.1 mi | |
| 2006 | Equipment and vehicle use | 250 | 34.8 mi |
Top 2 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 Mount Carmel. Useful comparison targets — same state, similar size, different fire profile.
1 departments report to NFIRS for incidents in Mount Carmel.
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.