In 2025, fire departments serving Penndel responded to 43 fire and hazmat incidents . 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 72% of all calls.
Nov peaks. Mar dips. Watch for the typical fall climb starting in October.
185 incidents 2021–2025. Peak year was 2023. $620K cumulative property loss.
| Year | Incidents | YoY | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2021 | 23 | — | |
| 2022 | 41 | +78.3% | |
| 2023 | 53 | +29.3% | |
| 2024 | 25 | -52.8% | |
| 2025 | 43 | +72.0% |
For the 7 building fires Penndel departments responded to in 2025, here's how they were classified once investigators were finished.
NFIRS Area of Origin (AREA_ORIG) for the 20 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 | 9 | 45.0% | |
| 2 | Other | 5 | 25.0% | |
| 3 | Laundry area, wash house (laundry) | 1 | 5.0% | |
| 4 | Chute/container - trash, rubbish, waste | 1 | 5.0% | |
| 5 | Equipment or service area, other | 1 | 5.0% | |
| 6 | Engine area, running gear, wheel area | 1 | 5.0% | |
| 7 | Outside area, other | 1 | 5.0% | |
| 8 | Highway, parking lot, street: on or near | 1 | 5.0% |
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 Penndel mix.
| # | Heat source | Count | Share | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Undetermined | 11 | 55.0% | |
| 2 | Heat source: other | 6 | 30.0% | |
| 3 | Spark, ember or flame from operating equipment | 1 | 5.0% | |
| 4 | Radiated, conducted heat from operating equipment | 1 | 5.0% | |
| 5 | Hot ember or ash | 1 | 5.0% |
Per-capita rates let us compare apples to apples. Penndel sits above the national average for incidents per resident.
Top 25 wildfires (1992+) in the FPA-FOD ignitions database, scaled by acres. 105,947 acres burned in this 50-mile radius. Each dot is a fire — bigger dots burned more land.
| Year | Cause | Acres | Distance | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1995 | Arson/incendiarism | 19,225 | 36.2 mi | |
| 2007 | Arson/incendiarism | 17,050 | 44.5 mi | |
| 1999 | Equipment and vehicle use | 11,765 | 41.1 mi | |
| 2019 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 11,638 | 36.2 mi | |
| 1992 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 5,284 | 39.1 mi | |
| 1992 | Arson/incendiarism | 4,832 | 41.6 mi | |
| 2017 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 3,577 | 35.9 mi | |
| 1992 | Arson/incendiarism | 2,900 | 26.0 mi | |
| 2001 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 2,730 | 34.5 mi | |
| 2002 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 2,600 | 23.7 mi | |
| 2007 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 2,450 | 32.2 mi | |
| 2014 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 2,300 | 25.0 mi |
Top 1 ZIP codes by NFIRS incident count across 2021–2025. Each ZIP has its own fire profile — dive in for neighborhood-level context.
| # | ZIP | 5-yr incidents | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 19047 | 185 |
Six Pennsylvania cities with population within ±25% of Penndel. Useful comparison targets — same state, similar size, different fire profile.
1 departments report to NFIRS for incidents in Penndel.
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.