In 2025, fire departments serving Philipsburg responded to 21 fire and hazmat incidents . Here's the full picture.
Hazardous condition, other lead by count. Building fires lead by dollars. Together the top five categories make up about 91% of all calls.
Apr peaks. Jun dips. Watch for the typical fall climb starting in October.
163 incidents 2021–2025. Peak year was 2022.
| Year | Incidents | YoY | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2021 | 33 | — | |
| 2022 | 49 | +48.5% | |
| 2023 | 37 | -24.5% | |
| 2024 | 23 | -37.8% | |
| 2025 | 21 | -8.7% |
For the 2 building fires Philipsburg departments responded to in 2025, here's how they were classified once investigators were finished.
NFIRS Area of Origin (AREA_ORIG) for the 22 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 | 4 | 18.2% | |
| 2 | Function area, other | 2 | 9.1% | |
| 3 | Attic: vacant, crawl space above top story, cupola | 2 | 9.1% | |
| 4 | Outside area, other | 2 | 9.1% | |
| 5 | Exterior stairway, ramp, or fire escape | 1 | 4.5% | |
| 6 | Entrance way, lobby | 1 | 4.5% | |
| 7 | Bedroom - < 5 persons; included are jail or prison | 1 | 4.5% | |
| 8 | Laundry area, wash house (laundry) | 1 | 4.5% | |
| 9 | Chute/container - trash, rubbish, waste | 1 | 4.5% | |
| 10 | Duct: hvac, cable, exhaust, heating, or AC | 1 | 4.5% | |
| 11 | All other areas | 6 | 27.3% |
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 Philipsburg mix.
| # | Heat source | Count | Share | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Undetermined | 9 | 40.9% | |
| 2 | Heat source: other | 5 | 22.7% | |
| 3 | Arcing | 2 | 9.1% | |
| 4 | Hot or smoldering object, other | 2 | 9.1% | |
| 5 | Heat from powered equipment, other | 1 | 4.5% | |
| 6 | Spark, ember or flame from operating equipment | 1 | 4.5% | |
| 7 | Radiated, conducted heat from operating equipment | 1 | 4.5% | |
| 8 | Candle | 1 | 4.5% |
Per-capita rates let us compare apples to apples. Philipsburg sits above the national average for incidents per resident.
Top 25 wildfires (1992+) in the FPA-FOD ignitions database, scaled by acres. 8,524 acres burned in this 50-mile radius. Each dot is a fire — bigger dots burned more land.
| Year | Cause | Acres | Distance | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2006 | Arson/incendiarism | 1,329 | 37.3 mi | |
| 2001 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 1,000 | 7.3 mi | |
| 2006 | Arson/incendiarism | 917 | 36.4 mi | |
| 2018 | Debris and open burning | 688 | 23.7 mi | |
| 2001 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 500 | 31.3 mi | |
| 2006 | Equipment and vehicle use | 424 | 27.8 mi | |
| 2006 | Arson/incendiarism | 352 | 7.0 mi | |
| 2013 | Arson/incendiarism | 352 | 23.8 mi | |
| 2006 | Arson/incendiarism | 348 | 37.3 mi | |
| 2000 | Natural | 300 | 44.7 mi | |
| 2009 | Railroad operations and maintenance | 297 | 30.4 mi | |
| 2017 | Railroad operations and maintenance | 295 | 32.7 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 | 16866 | 163 |
Six Pennsylvania cities with population within ±25% of Philipsburg. Useful comparison targets — same state, similar size, different fire profile.
3 departments report to NFIRS for incidents in Philipsburg.
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.