In 2025, fire departments serving North Braddock responded to 93 fire and hazmat incidents — from cooking fires to gas leaks to a single $2K building blaze. Here's the full picture.
Building fires lead by count. Building fires lead by dollars. Together the top five categories make up about 66% of all calls.
Jul peaks. Nov dips. Watch for the typical fall climb starting in October.
543 incidents 2021–2025. Peak year was 2023. $2K cumulative property loss. 2 civilian deaths.
| Year | Incidents | YoY | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2021 | 95 | — | |
| 2022 | 124 | +30.5% | |
| 2023 | 149 | +20.2% | |
| 2024 | 82 | -45.0% | |
| 2025 | 93 | +13.4% |
For the 19 building fires North Braddock departments responded to in 2025, here's how they were classified once investigators were finished.
NFIRS Area of Origin (AREA_ORIG) for the 84 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 | Cooking area, kitchen | 23 | 27.4% | |
| 2 | Outside area, other | 14 | 16.7% | |
| 3 | Undetermined | 8 | 9.5% | |
| 4 | Other | 4 | 4.8% | |
| 5 | Bedroom - < 5 persons; included are jail or prison | 4 | 4.8% | |
| 6 | Engine area, running gear, wheel area | 4 | 4.8% | |
| 7 | Vehicle area, other | 3 | 3.6% | |
| 8 | Highway, parking lot, street: on or near | 3 | 3.6% | |
| 9 | Function area, other | 2 | 2.4% | |
| 10 | Bathroom, checkroom, lavatory, locker room | 2 | 2.4% | |
| 11 | All other areas | 17 | 20.2% |
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 North Braddock mix.
| # | Heat source | Count | Share | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Undetermined | 48 | 57.1% | |
| 2 | Heat from powered equipment, other | 10 | 11.9% | |
| 3 | Arcing | 6 | 7.1% | |
| 4 | Heat source: other | 4 | 4.8% | |
| 5 | Cigarette lighter | 3 | 3.6% | |
| 6 | Radiated, conducted heat from operating equipment | 2 | 2.4% | |
| 7 | Heat from other open flame or smoking materials | 2 | 2.4% | |
| 8 | Heat from direct flame, convection currents | 2 | 2.4% | |
| 9 | Hot or smoldering object, other | 1 | 1.2% | |
| 10 | Hot ember or ash | 1 | 1.2% | |
| 11 | All other sources | 5 | 6.0% |
Largest single-incident property losses reported by North Braddock departments in 2025. These 1 fires alone account for 100% of the city's annual total.
| # | Property loss | Type | Severity | Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | $1,700 | Outside rubbish, trash or waste fire | Significant | Investigated |
Per-capita rates let us compare apples to apples. North Braddock sits above the national average for incidents per resident.
Top 25 wildfires (1992+) in the FPA-FOD ignitions database, scaled by acres. 1,760 acres burned in this 50-mile radius. Each dot is a fire — bigger dots burned more land.
| Year | Cause | Acres | Distance | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2016 | Smoking | 394 | 46.8 mi | |
| 2016 | Arson/incendiarism | 190 | 44.9 mi | |
| 2016 | Arson/incendiarism | 173 | 31.7 mi | |
| 2003 | Equipment and vehicle use | 152 | 41.5 mi | |
| 2013 | Debris and open burning | 106 | 43.0 mi | |
| 2005 | Arson/incendiarism | 105 | 49.3 mi | |
| 2009 | Debris and open burning | 90 | 43.5 mi | |
| 2005 | Arson/incendiarism | 60 | 32.6 mi | |
| 1992 | Arson/incendiarism | 48 | 36.2 mi | |
| 2006 | Debris and open burning | 45 | 46.5 mi | |
| 2013 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 36 | 40.3 mi | |
| 2014 | Arson/incendiarism | 35 | 31.2 mi |
Top 3 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 North Braddock. Useful comparison targets — same state, similar size, different fire profile.
2 departments report to NFIRS for incidents in North Braddock.
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.