In 2025, fire departments serving Phoenixville responded to 147 fire and hazmat incidents — from cooking fires to gas leaks to a single $800K building blaze. Here's the full picture.
Building fires lead by count. Building fires lead by dollars. Together the top five categories make up about 64% of all calls.
Jul peaks. Oct dips. Watch for the typical fall climb starting in October.
806 incidents 2021–2025. Peak year was 2022. $1.2M cumulative property loss.
| Year | Incidents | YoY | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2021 | 143 | — | |
| 2022 | 187 | +30.8% | |
| 2023 | 155 | -17.1% | |
| 2024 | 174 | +12.3% | |
| 2025 | 147 | -15.5% |
For the 49 building fires Phoenixville departments responded to in 2025, here's how they were classified once investigators were finished.
NFIRS Area of Origin (AREA_ORIG) for the 137 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 | 26 | 19.0% | |
| 2 | Cooking area, kitchen | 24 | 17.5% | |
| 3 | Undetermined | 14 | 10.2% | |
| 4 | Other | 12 | 8.8% | |
| 5 | Engine area, running gear, wheel area | 8 | 5.8% | |
| 6 | Laundry area, wash house (laundry) | 5 | 3.6% | |
| 7 | Equipment or service area, other | 4 | 2.9% | |
| 8 | Highway, parking lot, street: on or near | 4 | 2.9% | |
| 9 | Egress/exit, other | 3 | 2.2% | |
| 10 | Bathroom, checkroom, lavatory, locker room | 3 | 2.2% | |
| 11 | All other areas | 34 | 24.8% |
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 Phoenixville mix.
| # | Heat source | Count | Share | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Undetermined | 44 | 32.1% | |
| 2 | Heat from powered equipment, other | 17 | 12.4% | |
| 3 | Radiated, conducted heat from operating equipment | 14 | 10.2% | |
| 4 | Heat source: other | 12 | 8.8% | |
| 5 | Cigarette | 12 | 8.8% | |
| 6 | Arcing | 10 | 7.3% | |
| 7 | Hot ember or ash | 8 | 5.8% | |
| 8 | Hot or smoldering object, other | 7 | 5.1% | |
| 9 | Spark, ember or flame from operating equipment | 4 | 2.9% | |
| 10 | Match | 3 | 2.2% | |
| 11 | All other sources | 6 | 4.4% |
Largest single-incident property losses reported by Phoenixville departments in 2025. These 8 fires alone account for 100% of the city's annual total.
| # | Property loss | Type | Severity | Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | $800,000 | Building fires | Major | Investigated |
| 2 | $25,000 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
| 3 | $10,000 | Mobile property (vehicle) fire, other | Significant | Investigated |
| 4 | $10,000 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
| 5 | $5,000 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
| 6 | $3,000 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
| 7 | $500 | Cooking fire, confined to container | Significant | Investigated |
| 8 | $500 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
Per-capita rates let us compare apples to apples. Phoenixville sits above the national average for incidents per resident.
Top 25 wildfires (1992+) in the FPA-FOD ignitions database, scaled by acres. 12,311 acres burned in this 50-mile radius. Each dot is a fire — bigger dots burned more land.
| Year | Cause | Acres | Distance | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2020 | Arson/incendiarism | 2,107 | 47.2 mi | |
| 2008 | Arson/incendiarism | 1,950 | 48.7 mi | |
| 2014 | Arson/incendiarism | 910 | 46.3 mi | |
| 2015 | Equipment and vehicle use | 848 | 45.7 mi | |
| 2012 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 741 | 13.8 mi | |
| 2002 | Arson/incendiarism | 740 | 46.2 mi | |
| 2014 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 569 | 47.2 mi | |
| 2006 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 470 | 25.5 mi | |
| 2012 | Arson/incendiarism | 390 | 46.8 mi | |
| 2003 | Arson/incendiarism | 343 | 45.7 mi | |
| 2005 | Arson/incendiarism | 325 | 45.8 mi | |
| 1995 | Railroad operations and maintenance | 325 | 44.4 mi |
Top 6 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 Phoenixville. Useful comparison targets — same state, similar size, different fire profile.
3 departments report to NFIRS for incidents in Phoenixville.
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.