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2025 Annual Fire Report

Fires in New Wilmington, Pennsylvania

In 2025, fire departments serving New Wilmington responded to 11 fire and hazmat incidents . Here's the full picture.

Updated Sep 27, 2026 Grade B+ Peak yr 2021 Lawrence County 2,157 residents 0 reporting departments 98 5-yr

Incomplete 2025 data. New Wilmington's departments reported 11 incidents to NFIRS for 2025, against about 20 in a typical year, so 2025 figures on this page undercount. The 2021–2025 totals are the better guide.

Total incidents
11
Not comparable with 2024 (incomplete reporting)
Building fires
4
Residential 50% Other 50%
Property loss
$0
$0 structure · $0 contents
Deaths & injuries
0 / 0
0 civilian deaths · 0 civ injuries · 0 firefighter injuries
01 The mix

What kinds of fires happen here?

Building fires lead by count. Building fires lead by dollars. Together the top five categories make up about 82% of all calls.

11
Total Incidents
Building fires 4 36.4%
Power line down 2 18.2%
Fires in structures other than in a building 1 9.1%
Chimney or flue fire, confined to chimney or flue 1 9.1%
Fuel burner/boiler malfunction, fire confined 1 9.1%
All other categories 2 18.2%
02 Seasonality

When do fires happen?

Mar peaks. Apr dips. Watch for the typical fall climb starting in October.

Jan 2
Feb 1
Mar 3
Apr 0
May 2
Jun 1
Jul 1
Aug 0
Sep 1
Oct 0
Nov 0
Dec 0
Fewer
More
2b Five-year trend

Year over year in New Wilmington

98 incidents 2021–2025. Peak year was 2021.

YearIncidentsYoY 
2021 29 —
2022 24 -17.2%
2023 18 -25.0%
2024 16 -11.1%
2025* 11 —

* Well below New Wilmington's usual volume. That almost always means one or more departments didn't submit a full year to NFIRS, not that fires dropped, so no year-over-year change is shown for it.

03 Cause of ignition

What sparks building fires?

For the 4 building fires New Wilmington departments responded to in 2025, here's how they were classified once investigators were finished.

3b Where fires start

Where do fires start in New Wilmington?

NFIRS Area of Origin (AREA_ORIG) for the 1 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 originCountShare 
1 Outside area, other 1 100.0%
3c What ignited it

What actually ignited the fire?

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 New Wilmington mix.

#Heat sourceCountShare 
1 Flying brand, ember, spark 1 100.0%
05 How New Wilmington compares

New Wilmington vs Pennsylvania vs the nation

Per-capita rates let us compare apples to apples. New Wilmington sits below the national average for incidents per resident.

5.1
Incidents per 1,000 residents
New Wilmington
5.1
PA avg
6.49
US avg
7.48
1.85
Building fires per 1,000 residents
New Wilmington
1.85
PA avg
1.39
US avg
0.85
0
Civilian fire deaths per million
New Wilmington
0
PA avg
6.3
US avg
5.9
5c Wildfires nearby

Wildfires within 50 mi of New Wilmington

Top 25 wildfires (1992+) in the FPA-FOD ignitions database, scaled by acres. 1,573 acres burned in this 50-mile radius. Each dot is a fire — bigger dots burned more land.

50 mi radius
YearCauseAcresDistance 
2003 Debris and open burning 342 28.6 mi
2010 Equipment and vehicle use 260 43.1 mi
2003 Equipment and vehicle use 152 39.1 mi
2013 Debris and open burning 106 13.9 mi
2003 Missing data/not specified/undetermined 78 36.6 mi
2002 Missing data/not specified/undetermined 76 46.5 mi
2016 Debris and open burning 47 23.7 mi
2006 Debris and open burning 45 30.3 mi
2003 Debris and open burning 41 24.3 mi
2006 Equipment and vehicle use 38 21.9 mi
2015 Arson/incendiarism 35 43.8 mi
2014 Missing data/not specified/undetermined 30 47.1 mi
5d Top ZIPs

Where in New Wilmington do fires concentrate?

Top 3 ZIP codes by NFIRS incident count across 2021–2025. Each ZIP has its own fire profile — dive in for neighborhood-level context.

#ZIP5-yr incidents 
1 16142 96
2 16156 1
3 16159 1
5e Peer cities

Cities similar to New Wilmington

Six Pennsylvania cities with population within ±25% of New Wilmington. Useful comparison targets — same state, similar size, different fire profile.

07 Stay prepared

Before the next Red Flag day.

A 30-minute weekend can cut your home's exposure substantially. These four checklists are a good starting point.

About this data

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.