In 2025, fire departments serving North Huntingdon responded to 196 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 72% of all calls.
Aug peaks. Dec dips. Watch for the typical fall climb starting in October.
1,298 incidents 2021–2025. Peak year was 2021. $8K cumulative property loss.
| Year | Incidents | YoY | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2021 | 313 | — | |
| 2022 | 267 | -14.7% | |
| 2023 | 255 | -4.5% | |
| 2024 | 267 | +4.7% | |
| 2025 | 196 | -26.6% |
For the 60 building fires North Huntingdon departments responded to in 2025, here's how they were classified once investigators were finished.
NFIRS Area of Origin (AREA_ORIG) for the 187 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 | 46 | 24.6% | |
| 2 | Outside area, other | 31 | 16.6% | |
| 3 | Cooking area, kitchen | 17 | 9.1% | |
| 4 | Open area - outside; included are farmland, field | 16 | 8.6% | |
| 5 | Engine area, running gear, wheel area | 10 | 5.3% | |
| 6 | Wildland, woods | 7 | 3.7% | |
| 7 | Other | 5 | 2.7% | |
| 8 | Vehicle storage area; garage, carport | 5 | 2.7% | |
| 9 | Vehicle area, other | 5 | 2.7% | |
| 10 | Laundry area, wash house (laundry) | 4 | 2.1% | |
| 11 | All other areas | 41 | 21.9% |
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 North Huntingdon mix.
| # | Heat source | Count | Share | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Undetermined | 95 | 50.8% | |
| 2 | Arcing | 13 | 7.0% | |
| 3 | Heat source: other | 12 | 6.4% | |
| 4 | Heat from powered equipment, other | 9 | 4.8% | |
| 5 | Hot or smoldering object, other | 9 | 4.8% | |
| 6 | Hot ember or ash | 5 | 2.7% | |
| 7 | Flying brand, ember, spark | 5 | 2.7% | |
| 8 | Radiated, conducted heat from operating equipment | 4 | 2.1% | |
| 9 | Cigarette | 4 | 2.1% | |
| 10 | Match | 4 | 2.1% | |
| 11 | All other sources | 27 | 14.4% |
Per-capita rates let us compare apples to apples. North Huntingdon sits below the national average for incidents per resident.
Top 25 wildfires (1992+) in the FPA-FOD ignitions database, scaled by acres. 1,648 acres burned in this 50-mile radius. Each dot is a fire — bigger dots burned more land.
| Year | Cause | Acres | Distance | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2016 | Smoking | 394 | 41.1 mi | |
| 2016 | Arson/incendiarism | 190 | 39.0 mi | |
| 2016 | Arson/incendiarism | 173 | 25.1 mi | |
| 2003 | Equipment and vehicle use | 152 | 45.0 mi | |
| 2005 | Arson/incendiarism | 105 | 44.2 mi | |
| 2009 | Debris and open burning | 90 | 35.7 mi | |
| 2005 | Arson/incendiarism | 60 | 25.4 mi | |
| 1992 | Arson/incendiarism | 48 | 42.3 mi | |
| 2013 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 36 | 33.0 mi | |
| 2014 | Arson/incendiarism | 35 | 24.1 mi | |
| 2020 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 35 | 48.7 mi | |
| 2016 | Railroad operations and maintenance | 30 | 27.5 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 North Huntingdon. Useful comparison targets — same state, similar size, different fire profile.
5 departments report to NFIRS for incidents in North Huntingdon.
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.