In 2025, fire departments serving Shamokin Dam responded to 15 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 100% of all calls.
Sep peaks. Jan dips. Watch for the typical fall climb starting in October.
117 incidents 2021–2025. Peak year was 2022.
| Year | Incidents | YoY | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2021 | 31 | — | |
| 2022 | 38 | +22.6% | |
| 2023 | 19 | -50.0% | |
| 2024* | 14 | — | |
| 2025 | 15 | — |
* Well below Shamokin Dam's usual volume. That almost always means one or more departments didn't submit a full year to NFIRS, not that fires dropped, so no year-over-year change is shown for it.
For the 9 building fires Shamokin Dam departments responded to in 2025, here's how they were classified once investigators were finished.
NFIRS Area of Origin (AREA_ORIG) for the 16 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 | 25.0% | |
| 2 | Outside area, other | 3 | 18.8% | |
| 3 | Entrance way, lobby | 2 | 12.5% | |
| 4 | Wildland, woods | 2 | 12.5% | |
| 5 | Other | 1 | 6.2% | |
| 6 | Assembly or sales area, other | 1 | 6.2% | |
| 7 | Processing/manufacturing area, workroom | 1 | 6.2% | |
| 8 | Vehicle area, other | 1 | 6.2% | |
| 9 | Undetermined | 1 | 6.2% |
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 Shamokin Dam mix.
| # | Heat source | Count | Share | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Heat from powered equipment, other | 2 | 12.5% | |
| 2 | Arcing | 2 | 12.5% | |
| 3 | Heat, spark from friction | 2 | 12.5% | |
| 4 | Heat from undetermined smoking material | 2 | 12.5% | |
| 5 | Cigarette lighter | 2 | 12.5% | |
| 6 | Undetermined | 2 | 12.5% | |
| 7 | Spark, ember or flame from operating equipment | 1 | 6.2% | |
| 8 | Molten, hot material | 1 | 6.2% | |
| 9 | Hot ember or ash | 1 | 6.2% | |
| 10 | Cigarette | 1 | 6.2% |
Per-capita rates let us compare apples to apples. Shamokin Dam sits above the national average for incidents per resident.
Top 25 wildfires (1992+) in the FPA-FOD ignitions database, scaled by acres. 5,197 acres burned in this 50-mile radius. Each dot is a fire — bigger dots burned more land.
| Year | Cause | Acres | Distance | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2006 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 935 | 29.1 mi | |
| 2006 | Arson/incendiarism | 605 | 47.2 mi | |
| 2001 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 500 | 41.8 mi | |
| 2006 | Equipment and vehicle use | 424 | 47.2 mi | |
| 2017 | Arson/incendiarism | 282 | 34.5 mi | |
| 2005 | Arson/incendiarism | 263 | 33.7 mi | |
| 2008 | Recreation and ceremony | 193 | 28.2 mi | |
| 2015 | Arson/incendiarism | 184 | 32.3 mi | |
| 2002 | Arson/incendiarism | 183 | 46.0 mi | |
| 2002 | Railroad operations and maintenance | 168 | 41.0 mi | |
| 2010 | Natural | 161 | 45.3 mi | |
| 2007 | Debris and open burning | 135 | 43.7 mi |
Top 3 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 Shamokin Dam. Useful comparison targets — same state, similar size, different fire profile.
1 departments report to NFIRS for incidents in Shamokin Dam.
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.