In 2025, fire departments serving Shickshinny responded to 23 fire and hazmat incidents — from cooking fires to gas leaks to a single $179K 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 78% of all calls.
Jan peaks. Mar dips. Watch for the typical fall climb starting in October.
147 incidents 2021–2025. Peak year was 2022. $247K cumulative property loss. 6 civilian deaths.
| Year | Incidents | YoY | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2021 | 28 | — | |
| 2022 | 33 | +17.9% | |
| 2023 | 32 | -3.0% | |
| 2024 | 31 | -3.1% | |
| 2025 | 23 | -25.8% |
For the 11 building fires Shickshinny departments responded to in 2025, here's how they were classified once investigators were finished.
NFIRS Area of Origin (AREA_ORIG) for the 28 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 | 9 | 32.1% | |
| 2 | Undetermined | 5 | 17.9% | |
| 3 | Wildland, woods | 3 | 10.7% | |
| 4 | Other | 2 | 7.1% | |
| 5 | Vehicle storage area; garage, carport | 2 | 7.1% | |
| 6 | Structural area, other | 2 | 7.1% | |
| 7 | Laundry area, wash house (laundry) | 1 | 3.6% | |
| 8 | Duct: hvac, cable, exhaust, heating, or AC | 1 | 3.6% | |
| 9 | Equipment or service area, other | 1 | 3.6% | |
| 10 | Substructure area or space, crawl space | 1 | 3.6% | |
| 11 | All other areas | 1 | 3.6% |
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 Shickshinny mix.
| # | Heat source | Count | Share | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Arcing | 9 | 32.1% | |
| 2 | Undetermined | 7 | 25.0% | |
| 3 | Heat source: other | 3 | 10.7% | |
| 4 | Heat from powered equipment, other | 2 | 7.1% | |
| 5 | Flying brand, ember, spark | 2 | 7.1% | |
| 6 | Spark, ember or flame from operating equipment | 1 | 3.6% | |
| 7 | Hot ember or ash | 1 | 3.6% | |
| 8 | Heat from other open flame or smoking materials | 1 | 3.6% | |
| 9 | Cigarette | 1 | 3.6% | |
| 10 | Flame/torch used for lighting | 1 | 3.6% |
Largest single-incident property losses reported by Shickshinny departments in 2025. These 1 fires alone account for 100% of the city's annual total.
| # | Property loss | Type | Severity | Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | $179,000 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
Per-capita rates let us compare apples to apples. Shickshinny sits above the national average for incidents per resident.
11 fire-related casualties recorded in NFIRS Module 11 across the 2021–2025 window. Age, gender, and severity are coarse-binned — no individual identification possible.
| Age | Count | |
|---|---|---|
| 0-9 | 0 | |
| 10-19 | 4 | |
| 20-29 | 0 | |
| 30-39 | 1 | |
| 40-49 | 3 | |
| 50-59 | 0 | |
| 60-69 | 1 | |
| 70-79 | 2 | |
| 80+ | 0 |
Top 25 wildfires (1992+) in the FPA-FOD ignitions database, scaled by acres. 13,241 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 | 40.6 mi | |
| 2009 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 2,126 | 15.1 mi | |
| 2008 | Arson/incendiarism | 995 | 49.7 mi | |
| 2015 | Equipment and vehicle use | 848 | 35.0 mi | |
| 2020 | Arson/incendiarism | 812 | 43.1 mi | |
| 2015 | Arson/incendiarism | 674 | 24.3 mi | |
| 2016 | Arson/incendiarism | 647 | 48.4 mi | |
| 2014 | Arson/incendiarism | 615 | 49.6 mi | |
| 2010 | Arson/incendiarism | 398 | 28.5 mi | |
| 2010 | Arson/incendiarism | 336 | 14.5 mi | |
| 2014 | Arson/incendiarism | 328 | 19.6 mi | |
| 2020 | Railroad operations and maintenance | 308 | 26.2 mi |
Top 5 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 Shickshinny. 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.