In 2025, fire departments serving Shillington responded to 124 fire and hazmat incidents — from cooking fires to gas leaks to a single $100K building blaze. Here's the full picture.
Gas leak (natural gas or LPG) lead by count. Building fires lead by dollars. Together the top five categories make up about 67% of all calls.
Mar peaks. Jan dips. Watch for the typical fall climb starting in October.
398 incidents 2021–2025. Peak year was 2025. $738K cumulative property loss.
| Year | Incidents | YoY | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2021 | 79 | — | |
| 2022 | 83 | +5.1% | |
| 2023 | 59 | -28.9% | |
| 2024 | 53 | -10.2% | |
| 2025 | 124 | +134.0% |
For the 15 building fires Shillington departments responded to in 2025, here's how they were classified once investigators were finished.
NFIRS Area of Origin (AREA_ORIG) for the 94 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 | 42 | 44.7% | |
| 2 | Outside area, other | 12 | 12.8% | |
| 3 | Engine area, running gear, wheel area | 7 | 7.4% | |
| 4 | Other | 4 | 4.3% | |
| 5 | Heating room or area, water heater area | 3 | 3.2% | |
| 6 | Wall surface: exterior | 3 | 3.2% | |
| 7 | Bedroom - < 5 persons; included are jail or prison | 2 | 2.1% | |
| 8 | Bathroom, checkroom, lavatory, locker room | 2 | 2.1% | |
| 9 | Duct: hvac, cable, exhaust, heating, or AC | 2 | 2.1% | |
| 10 | Courtyard, patio, porch, terrace | 2 | 2.1% | |
| 11 | All other areas | 15 | 16.0% |
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 Shillington mix.
| # | Heat source | Count | Share | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Undetermined | 22 | 23.4% | |
| 2 | Radiated, conducted heat from operating equipment | 21 | 22.3% | |
| 3 | Heat source: other | 11 | 11.7% | |
| 4 | Arcing | 8 | 8.5% | |
| 5 | Heat from powered equipment, other | 7 | 7.4% | |
| 6 | Heat from direct flame, convection currents | 7 | 7.4% | |
| 7 | Spark, ember or flame from operating equipment | 6 | 6.4% | |
| 8 | Heat from other open flame or smoking materials | 4 | 4.3% | |
| 9 | Cigarette | 3 | 3.2% | |
| 10 | Hot ember or ash | 2 | 2.1% | |
| 11 | All other sources | 3 | 3.2% |
Largest single-incident property losses reported by Shillington departments in 2025. These 7 fires alone account for 100% of the city's annual total.
| # | Property loss | Type | Severity | Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | $100,000 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
| 2 | $25,000 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
| 3 | $12,000 | Passenger vehicle fire | Significant | Investigated |
| 4 | $10,000 | Road freight or transport vehicle fire | Significant | Investigated |
| 5 | $7,500 | Fire, other | Significant | Investigated |
| 6 | $4,000 | Passenger vehicle fire | Significant | Investigated |
| 7 | $3,500 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
Per-capita rates let us compare apples to apples. Shillington sits above the national average for incidents per resident.
Top 25 wildfires (1992+) in the FPA-FOD ignitions database, scaled by acres. 5,966 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 | 37.6 mi | |
| 2015 | Equipment and vehicle use | 848 | 36.3 mi | |
| 2012 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 741 | 12.5 mi | |
| 2006 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 470 | 46.1 mi | |
| 2020 | Railroad operations and maintenance | 308 | 45.0 mi | |
| 2017 | Arson/incendiarism | 282 | 38.9 mi | |
| 2005 | Arson/incendiarism | 263 | 38.7 mi | |
| 2006 | Equipment and vehicle use | 250 | 43.5 mi | |
| 2002 | Natural | 250 | 41.5 mi | |
| 2008 | Recreation and ceremony | 193 | 35.3 mi | |
| 2015 | Arson/incendiarism | 184 | 38.8 mi | |
| 2002 | Railroad operations and maintenance | 168 | 36.9 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 | 19607 | 398 |
Six Pennsylvania cities with population within ±25% of Shillington. Useful comparison targets — same state, similar size, different fire profile.
1 departments report to NFIRS for incidents in Shillington.
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.