In 2025, fire departments serving Scottdale responded to 51 fire and hazmat incidents . Here's the full picture.
Building fires lead by count. Building fires lead by dollars. Together the top five categories make up about 92% of all calls.
Apr peaks. Oct dips. Watch for the typical fall climb starting in October.
420 incidents 2021–2025. Peak year was 2022.
| Year | Incidents | YoY | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2021 | 87 | — | |
| 2022 | 107 | +23.0% | |
| 2023 | 76 | -29.0% | |
| 2024 | 99 | +30.3% | |
| 2025 | 51 | -48.5% |
For the 37 building fires Scottdale departments responded to in 2025, here's how they were classified once investigators were finished.
NFIRS Area of Origin (AREA_ORIG) for the 54 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 | 11 | 20.4% | |
| 2 | Cooking area, kitchen | 5 | 9.3% | |
| 3 | Undetermined | 5 | 9.3% | |
| 4 | Laundry area, wash house (laundry) | 4 | 7.4% | |
| 5 | Other | 3 | 5.6% | |
| 6 | Bedroom - < 5 persons; included are jail or prison | 2 | 3.7% | |
| 7 | Dining room, cafeteria bar area, beverage service | 2 | 3.7% | |
| 8 | Storage area, other | 2 | 3.7% | |
| 9 | Vehicle storage area; garage, carport | 2 | 3.7% | |
| 10 | Engine area, running gear, wheel area | 2 | 3.7% | |
| 11 | All other areas | 16 | 29.6% |
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 Scottdale mix.
| # | Heat source | Count | Share | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Undetermined | 14 | 25.9% | |
| 2 | Arcing | 8 | 14.8% | |
| 3 | Heat source: other | 6 | 11.1% | |
| 4 | Cigarette lighter | 5 | 9.3% | |
| 5 | Heat from powered equipment, other | 4 | 7.4% | |
| 6 | Radiated, conducted heat from operating equipment | 4 | 7.4% | |
| 7 | Spark, ember or flame from operating equipment | 2 | 3.7% | |
| 8 | Hot or smoldering object, other | 2 | 3.7% | |
| 9 | Hot ember or ash | 2 | 3.7% | |
| 10 | Cigarette | 2 | 3.7% | |
| 11 | All other sources | 5 | 9.3% |
Per-capita rates let us compare apples to apples. Scottdale sits above the national average for incidents per resident.
Top 25 wildfires (1992+) in the FPA-FOD ignitions database, scaled by acres. 2,801 acres burned in this 50-mile radius. Each dot is a fire — bigger dots burned more land.
| Year | Cause | Acres | Distance | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2005 | Railroad operations and maintenance | 755 | 46.0 mi | |
| 2008 | Railroad operations and maintenance | 480 | 47.5 mi | |
| 2016 | Smoking | 394 | 26.1 mi | |
| 2016 | Arson/incendiarism | 190 | 37.2 mi | |
| 2016 | Arson/incendiarism | 173 | 24.1 mi | |
| 2005 | Arson/incendiarism | 105 | 44.7 mi | |
| 2009 | Debris and open burning | 90 | 24.9 mi | |
| 2005 | Arson/incendiarism | 60 | 8.3 mi | |
| 2005 | Debris and open burning | 60 | 37.5 mi | |
| 1999 | Fireworks | 50 | 48.2 mi | |
| 2014 | Debris and open burning | 46 | 49.5 mi | |
| 2008 | Equipment and vehicle use | 41 | 48.6 mi |
Top 9 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 Scottdale. Useful comparison targets — same state, similar size, different fire profile.
1 departments report to NFIRS for incidents in Scottdale.
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.