In 2025, fire departments serving Shippensburg responded to 89 fire and hazmat incidents — from cooking fires to gas leaks to a single $75K 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 62% of all calls.
May peaks. Feb dips. Watch for the typical fall climb starting in October.
613 incidents 2021–2025. Peak year was 2024. $308K cumulative property loss.
| Year | Incidents | YoY | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2021 | 121 | — | |
| 2022 | 85 | -29.8% | |
| 2023 | 133 | +56.5% | |
| 2024 | 185 | +39.1% | |
| 2025 | 89 | -51.9% |
For the 19 building fires Shippensburg departments responded to in 2025, here's how they were classified once investigators were finished.
NFIRS Area of Origin (AREA_ORIG) for the 128 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 | Engine area, running gear, wheel area | 16 | 12.5% | |
| 2 | Outside area, other | 14 | 10.9% | |
| 3 | Other | 13 | 10.2% | |
| 4 | Undetermined | 13 | 10.2% | |
| 5 | Cooking area, kitchen | 11 | 8.6% | |
| 6 | Open area - outside; included are farmland, field | 7 | 5.5% | |
| 7 | Wildland, woods | 5 | 3.9% | |
| 8 | Bedroom - < 5 persons; included are jail or prison | 4 | 3.1% | |
| 9 | Exterior balcony, unenclosed porch | 4 | 3.1% | |
| 10 | Storage area, other | 3 | 2.3% | |
| 11 | All other areas | 38 | 29.7% |
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 Shippensburg mix.
| # | Heat source | Count | Share | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Undetermined | 64 | 50.0% | |
| 2 | Heat source: other | 16 | 12.5% | |
| 3 | Heat from powered equipment, other | 7 | 5.5% | |
| 4 | Spark, ember or flame from operating equipment | 6 | 4.7% | |
| 5 | Arcing | 6 | 4.7% | |
| 6 | Hot or smoldering object, other | 6 | 4.7% | |
| 7 | Hot ember or ash | 4 | 3.1% | |
| 8 | Radiated, conducted heat from operating equipment | 3 | 2.3% | |
| 9 | Cigarette | 3 | 2.3% | |
| 10 | Heat from direct flame, convection currents | 3 | 2.3% | |
| 11 | All other sources | 10 | 7.8% |
Largest single-incident property losses reported by Shippensburg departments in 2025. These 2 fires alone account for 100% of the city's annual total.
| # | Property loss | Type | Severity | Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | $75,000 | Road freight or transport vehicle fire | Significant | Investigated |
| 2 | $75,000 | Off-road vehicle or heavy equipment fire | Significant | Investigated |
Per-capita rates let us compare apples to apples. Shippensburg sits above the national average for incidents per resident.
Top 25 wildfires (1992+) in the FPA-FOD ignitions database, scaled by acres. 3,157 acres burned in this 50-mile radius. Each dot is a fire — bigger dots burned more land.
| Year | Cause | Acres | Distance | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2001 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 1,000 | 32.7 mi | |
| 2006 | Equipment and vehicle use | 424 | 49.9 mi | |
| 2016 | Arson/incendiarism | 345 | 35.7 mi | |
| 2000 | Natural | 300 | 36.8 mi | |
| 2012 | Arson/incendiarism | 145 | 35.5 mi | |
| 2016 | Arson/incendiarism | 72 | 11.2 mi | |
| 2010 | Arson/incendiarism | 70 | 33.2 mi | |
| 2008 | Debris and open burning | 70 | 46.3 mi | |
| 2016 | Power generation/transmission/distribution | 62 | 43.5 mi | |
| 2016 | Recreation and ceremony | 58 | 29.7 mi | |
| 2006 | Arson/incendiarism | 55 | 12.9 mi | |
| 2009 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 48 | 41.2 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 | 17257 | 613 |
Six Pennsylvania cities with population within ±25% of Shippensburg. Useful comparison targets — same state, similar size, different fire profile.
3 departments report to NFIRS for incidents in Shippensburg.
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.