In 2025, fire departments serving Rankin responded to 34 fire and hazmat incidents — from cooking fires to gas leaks to a single $64K building blaze. Here's the full picture.
Cooking fire, confined to container lead by count. Building fires lead by dollars. Together the top five categories make up about 91% of all calls.
Sep peaks. Feb dips. Watch for the typical fall climb starting in October.
170 incidents 2021–2025. Peak year was 2024. $69K cumulative property loss. 1 civilian deaths.
| Year | Incidents | YoY | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2021 | 34 | — | |
| 2022 | 21 | -38.2% | |
| 2023 | 37 | +76.2% | |
| 2024 | 44 | +18.9% | |
| 2025 | 34 | -22.7% |
For the 9 building fires Rankin departments responded to in 2025, here's how they were classified once investigators were finished.
NFIRS Area of Origin (AREA_ORIG) for the 39 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 | 9 | 23.1% | |
| 2 | Bedroom - < 5 persons; included are jail or prison | 6 | 15.4% | |
| 3 | Engine area, running gear, wheel area | 6 | 15.4% | |
| 4 | Courtyard, patio, porch, terrace | 5 | 12.8% | |
| 5 | Outside area, other | 4 | 10.3% | |
| 6 | Vehicle area, other | 3 | 7.7% | |
| 7 | Operator/passenger area of transportation equip. | 2 | 5.1% | |
| 8 | Other | 1 | 2.6% | |
| 9 | Bedroom - 5+ persons; including barrack/dormitory | 1 | 2.6% | |
| 10 | Wall surface: exterior | 1 | 2.6% | |
| 11 | All other areas | 1 | 2.6% |
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 Rankin mix.
| # | Heat source | Count | Share | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Undetermined | 16 | 41.0% | |
| 2 | Radiated, conducted heat from operating equipment | 6 | 15.4% | |
| 3 | Heat from powered equipment, other | 3 | 7.7% | |
| 4 | Arcing | 3 | 7.7% | |
| 5 | Fireworks | 3 | 7.7% | |
| 6 | Heat source: other | 2 | 5.1% | |
| 7 | Chemical reaction | 2 | 5.1% | |
| 8 | Hot ember or ash | 1 | 2.6% | |
| 9 | Cigarette | 1 | 2.6% | |
| 10 | Match | 1 | 2.6% | |
| 11 | All other sources | 1 | 2.6% |
Largest single-incident property losses reported by Rankin departments in 2025. These 2 fires alone account for 100% of the city's annual total.
| # | Property loss | Type | Severity | Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | $64,100 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
| 2 | $5,319 | Passenger vehicle fire | Significant | Investigated |
Per-capita rates let us compare apples to apples. Rankin sits above the national average for incidents per resident.
Top 25 wildfires (1992+) in the FPA-FOD ignitions database, scaled by acres. 1,674 acres burned in this 50-mile radius. Each dot is a fire — bigger dots burned more land.
| Year | Cause | Acres | Distance | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2016 | Smoking | 394 | 47.7 mi | |
| 2016 | Arson/incendiarism | 190 | 46.4 mi | |
| 2016 | Arson/incendiarism | 173 | 33.2 mi | |
| 2003 | Equipment and vehicle use | 152 | 41.5 mi | |
| 2013 | Debris and open burning | 106 | 41.7 mi | |
| 2009 | Debris and open burning | 90 | 45.1 mi | |
| 2005 | Arson/incendiarism | 60 | 33.8 mi | |
| 1992 | Arson/incendiarism | 48 | 34.9 mi | |
| 2006 | Debris and open burning | 45 | 46.1 mi | |
| 2013 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 36 | 41.9 mi | |
| 2014 | Arson/incendiarism | 35 | 32.5 mi | |
| 2016 | Railroad operations and maintenance | 30 | 36.2 mi |
Top 2 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 Rankin. Useful comparison targets — same state, similar size, different fire profile.
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.