In 2025, fire departments serving Oakdale responded to 38 fire and hazmat incidents — from cooking fires to gas leaks to a single $13K building blaze. Here's the full picture.
Gas leak (natural gas or LPG) lead by count. Building fires lead by dollars. Together the top five categories make up about 63% of all calls.
Sep peaks. Jan dips. Watch for the typical fall climb starting in October.
313 incidents 2021–2025. Peak year was 2024. $13K cumulative property loss. 1 civilian deaths.
| Year | Incidents | YoY | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2021 | 59 | — | |
| 2022 | 68 | +15.3% | |
| 2023 | 71 | +4.4% | |
| 2024 | 77 | +8.5% | |
| 2025 | 38 | -50.6% |
For the 2 building fires Oakdale departments responded to in 2025, here's how they were classified once investigators were finished.
NFIRS Area of Origin (AREA_ORIG) for the 55 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 | 12 | 21.8% | |
| 2 | Other | 7 | 12.7% | |
| 3 | Cooking area, kitchen | 5 | 9.1% | |
| 4 | Engine area, running gear, wheel area | 5 | 9.1% | |
| 5 | Undetermined | 5 | 9.1% | |
| 6 | Equipment or service area, other | 3 | 5.5% | |
| 7 | Exterior balcony, unenclosed porch | 3 | 5.5% | |
| 8 | Wildland, woods | 3 | 5.5% | |
| 9 | Duct: hvac, cable, exhaust, heating, or AC | 2 | 3.6% | |
| 10 | Roof surface: exterior | 2 | 3.6% | |
| 11 | All other areas | 8 | 14.5% |
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 Oakdale mix.
| # | Heat source | Count | Share | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Undetermined | 34 | 61.8% | |
| 2 | Heat from powered equipment, other | 6 | 10.9% | |
| 3 | Heat source: other | 3 | 5.5% | |
| 4 | Arcing | 3 | 5.5% | |
| 5 | Hot ember or ash | 2 | 3.6% | |
| 6 | Heat from direct flame, convection currents | 2 | 3.6% | |
| 7 | Spark, ember or flame from operating equipment | 1 | 1.8% | |
| 8 | Radiated, conducted heat from operating equipment | 1 | 1.8% | |
| 9 | Hot or smoldering object, other | 1 | 1.8% | |
| 10 | Match | 1 | 1.8% | |
| 11 | All other sources | 1 | 1.8% |
Largest single-incident property losses reported by Oakdale departments in 2025. These 1 fires alone account for 100% of the city's annual total.
| # | Property loss | Type | Severity | Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | $13,163 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
Per-capita rates let us compare apples to apples. Oakdale sits above the national average for incidents per resident.
Top 25 wildfires (1992+) in the FPA-FOD ignitions database, scaled by acres. 1,147 acres burned in this 50-mile radius. Each dot is a fire — bigger dots burned more land.
| Year | Cause | Acres | Distance | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2016 | Arson/incendiarism | 173 | 49.1 mi | |
| 2003 | Equipment and vehicle use | 152 | 50.0 mi | |
| 2013 | Debris and open burning | 106 | 36.3 mi | |
| 2003 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 78 | 43.4 mi | |
| 2005 | Arson/incendiarism | 60 | 43.6 mi | |
| 2014 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 49 | 49.2 mi | |
| 1992 | Arson/incendiarism | 48 | 18.9 mi | |
| 2009 | Equipment and vehicle use | 40 | 49.6 mi | |
| 2014 | Arson/incendiarism | 35 | 42.1 mi | |
| 2015 | Arson/incendiarism | 35 | 45.6 mi | |
| 2005 | Debris and open burning | 31 | 43.1 mi | |
| 2016 | Railroad operations and maintenance | 30 | 46.3 mi |
Top 5 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 Oakdale. Useful comparison targets — same state, similar size, different fire profile.
2 departments report to NFIRS for incidents in Oakdale.
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.