In 2025, fire departments serving Murrysville responded to 286 fire and hazmat incidents . Here's the full picture.
Power line down lead by count. Building fires lead by dollars. Together the top five categories make up about 76% of all calls.
Apr peaks. Dec dips. Watch for the typical fall climb starting in October.
1,024 incidents 2021–2025. Peak year was 2025.
| Year | Incidents | YoY | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2021 | 176 | — | |
| 2022 | 124 | -29.5% | |
| 2023 | 214 | +72.6% | |
| 2024 | 224 | +4.7% | |
| 2025 | 286 | +27.7% |
For the 23 building fires Murrysville departments responded to in 2025, here's how they were classified once investigators were finished.
NFIRS Area of Origin (AREA_ORIG) for the 94 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 | Open area - outside; included are farmland, field | 18 | 19.1% | |
| 2 | Outside area, other | 14 | 14.9% | |
| 3 | Wildland, woods | 12 | 12.8% | |
| 4 | Undetermined | 12 | 12.8% | |
| 5 | Engine area, running gear, wheel area | 8 | 8.5% | |
| 6 | Cooking area, kitchen | 6 | 6.4% | |
| 7 | Exterior balcony, unenclosed porch | 3 | 3.2% | |
| 8 | Bedroom - < 5 persons; included are jail or prison | 2 | 2.1% | |
| 9 | Dining room, cafeteria bar area, beverage service | 2 | 2.1% | |
| 10 | Laundry area, wash house (laundry) | 2 | 2.1% | |
| 11 | All other areas | 15 | 16.0% |
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 Murrysville mix.
| # | Heat source | Count | Share | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Undetermined | 40 | 42.6% | |
| 2 | Hot ember or ash | 18 | 19.1% | |
| 3 | Arcing | 7 | 7.4% | |
| 4 | Heat from direct flame, convection currents | 4 | 4.3% | |
| 5 | Cigarette | 3 | 3.2% | |
| 6 | Chemical reaction | 3 | 3.2% | |
| 7 | Hot or smoldering object, other | 2 | 2.1% | |
| 8 | Heat from other open flame or smoking materials | 2 | 2.1% | |
| 9 | Heat spread from another fire, other | 2 | 2.1% | |
| 10 | Flying brand, ember, spark | 2 | 2.1% | |
| 11 | All other sources | 11 | 11.7% |
Per-capita rates let us compare apples to apples. Murrysville sits above the national average for incidents per resident.
Top 25 wildfires (1992+) in the FPA-FOD ignitions database, scaled by acres. 2,225 acres burned in this 50-mile radius. Each dot is a fire — bigger dots burned more land.
| Year | Cause | Acres | Distance | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2016 | Smoking | 394 | 49.2 mi | |
| 2010 | Equipment and vehicle use | 260 | 47.4 mi | |
| 2016 | Arson/incendiarism | 190 | 34.7 mi | |
| 2016 | Arson/incendiarism | 173 | 22.1 mi | |
| 2003 | Railroad operations and maintenance | 173 | 46.8 mi | |
| 2003 | Equipment and vehicle use | 152 | 36.6 mi | |
| 2013 | Debris and open burning | 106 | 47.5 mi | |
| 2005 | Arson/incendiarism | 105 | 38.5 mi | |
| 2009 | Debris and open burning | 90 | 36.4 mi | |
| 2002 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 76 | 45.1 mi | |
| 2005 | Arson/incendiarism | 60 | 32.2 mi | |
| 1992 | Arson/incendiarism | 48 | 47.0 mi |
Top 10 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 Murrysville. Useful comparison targets — same state, similar size, different fire profile.
2 departments report to NFIRS for incidents in Murrysville.
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.