In 2025, fire departments serving Northumberland responded to 37 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 81% of all calls.
Mar peaks. Jul dips. Watch for the typical fall climb starting in October.
292 incidents 2021–2025. Peak year was 2021. $926K cumulative property loss.
| Year | Incidents | YoY | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2021 | 78 | — | |
| 2022 | 52 | -33.3% | |
| 2023 | 55 | +5.8% | |
| 2024 | 70 | +27.3% | |
| 2025 | 37 | -47.1% |
For the 17 building fires Northumberland departments responded to in 2025, here's how they were classified once investigators were finished.
NFIRS Area of Origin (AREA_ORIG) for the 32 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 | Outside area, other | 5 | 15.6% | |
| 2 | Vehicle area, other | 4 | 12.5% | |
| 3 | Other | 3 | 9.4% | |
| 4 | Attic: vacant, crawl space above top story, cupola | 3 | 9.4% | |
| 5 | Open area - outside; included are farmland, field | 3 | 9.4% | |
| 6 | Function area, other | 2 | 6.2% | |
| 7 | Cooking area, kitchen | 2 | 6.2% | |
| 8 | Highway, parking lot, street: on or near | 2 | 6.2% | |
| 9 | Bathroom, checkroom, lavatory, locker room | 1 | 3.1% | |
| 10 | Laundry area, wash house (laundry) | 1 | 3.1% | |
| 11 | All other areas | 6 | 18.8% |
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 Northumberland mix.
| # | Heat source | Count | Share | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Undetermined | 13 | 40.6% | |
| 2 | Arcing | 5 | 15.6% | |
| 3 | Radiated, conducted heat from operating equipment | 3 | 9.4% | |
| 4 | Cigarette | 3 | 9.4% | |
| 5 | Spark, ember or flame from operating equipment | 2 | 6.2% | |
| 6 | Heat source: other | 1 | 3.1% | |
| 7 | Hot ember or ash | 1 | 3.1% | |
| 8 | Match | 1 | 3.1% | |
| 9 | Candle | 1 | 3.1% | |
| 10 | Chemical, natural heat source, other | 1 | 3.1% | |
| 11 | All other sources | 1 | 3.1% |
Per-capita rates let us compare apples to apples. Northumberland sits above the national average for incidents per resident.
Top 25 wildfires (1992+) in the FPA-FOD ignitions database, scaled by acres. 5,634 acres burned in this 50-mile radius. Each dot is a fire — bigger dots burned more land.
| Year | Cause | Acres | Distance | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2006 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 935 | 31.5 mi | |
| 2006 | Arson/incendiarism | 605 | 46.0 mi | |
| 2001 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 500 | 43.1 mi | |
| 2006 | Equipment and vehicle use | 424 | 49.2 mi | |
| 2017 | Arson/incendiarism | 282 | 33.1 mi | |
| 2005 | Arson/incendiarism | 263 | 32.3 mi | |
| 2005 | Arson/incendiarism | 258 | 49.1 mi | |
| 2002 | Arson/incendiarism | 257 | 49.0 mi | |
| 2008 | Recreation and ceremony | 193 | 27.6 mi | |
| 2015 | Arson/incendiarism | 184 | 31.0 mi | |
| 2002 | Arson/incendiarism | 183 | 43.2 mi | |
| 2002 | Railroad operations and maintenance | 168 | 39.7 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 Northumberland. Useful comparison targets — same state, similar size, different fire profile.
1 departments report to NFIRS for incidents in Northumberland.
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.