In 2025, fire departments serving Shenandoah responded to 55 fire and hazmat incidents . Here's the full picture.
Aircraft standby lead by count. Building fires lead by dollars. Together the top five categories make up about 86% of all calls.
Sep peaks. Oct dips. Watch for the typical fall climb starting in October.
441 incidents 2021–2025. Peak year was 2023.
| Year | Incidents | YoY | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2021 | 96 | — | |
| 2022 | 78 | -18.8% | |
| 2023 | 141 | +80.8% | |
| 2024 | 71 | -49.6% | |
| 2025 | 55 | -22.5% |
For the 16 building fires Shenandoah departments responded to in 2025, here's how they were classified once investigators were finished.
NFIRS Area of Origin (AREA_ORIG) for the 103 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 | 18 | 17.5% | |
| 2 | Wildland, woods | 14 | 13.6% | |
| 3 | Bedroom - < 5 persons; included are jail or prison | 11 | 10.7% | |
| 4 | Undetermined | 10 | 9.7% | |
| 5 | Engine area, running gear, wheel area | 8 | 7.8% | |
| 6 | Function area, other | 7 | 6.8% | |
| 7 | Outside area, other | 5 | 4.9% | |
| 8 | Storage area, other | 3 | 2.9% | |
| 9 | Vehicle storage area; garage, carport | 3 | 2.9% | |
| 10 | Vehicle area, other | 3 | 2.9% | |
| 11 | All other areas | 21 | 20.4% |
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 Shenandoah mix.
| # | Heat source | Count | Share | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Undetermined | 64 | 62.1% | |
| 2 | Heat source: other | 26 | 25.2% | |
| 3 | Heat from powered equipment, other | 2 | 1.9% | |
| 4 | Radiated, conducted heat from operating equipment | 2 | 1.9% | |
| 5 | Arcing | 2 | 1.9% | |
| 6 | Hot or smoldering object, other | 2 | 1.9% | |
| 7 | Cigarette lighter | 2 | 1.9% | |
| 8 | Fireworks | 1 | 1.0% | |
| 9 | Heat from other open flame or smoking materials | 1 | 1.0% | |
| 10 | Cigarette | 1 | 1.0% |
Per-capita rates let us compare apples to apples. Shenandoah sits above the national average for incidents per resident.
Top 25 wildfires (1992+) in the FPA-FOD ignitions database, scaled by acres. 12,091 acres burned in this 50-mile radius. Each dot is a fire — bigger dots burned more land.
| Year | Cause | Acres | Distance | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2004 | Arson/incendiarism | 2,265 | 49.3 mi | |
| 2009 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 2,126 | 31.7 mi | |
| 2006 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 935 | 34.5 mi | |
| 2015 | Equipment and vehicle use | 848 | 26.7 mi | |
| 2012 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 741 | 47.6 mi | |
| 2015 | Arson/incendiarism | 674 | 34.3 mi | |
| 2010 | Arson/incendiarism | 398 | 46.2 mi | |
| 2010 | Arson/incendiarism | 336 | 26.5 mi | |
| 2014 | Arson/incendiarism | 328 | 24.7 mi | |
| 2020 | Railroad operations and maintenance | 308 | 25.2 mi | |
| 2017 | Arson/incendiarism | 282 | 2.8 mi | |
| 2005 | Arson/incendiarism | 263 | 1.9 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 | 17976 | 441 |
Six Pennsylvania cities with population within ±25% of Shenandoah. Useful comparison targets — same state, similar size, different fire profile.
5 departments report to NFIRS for incidents in Shenandoah.
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.