In 2025, fire departments serving Sinking Spring responded to 187 fire and hazmat incidents — from cooking fires to gas leaks to a single $35K 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 56% of all calls.
Apr peaks. Jan dips. Watch for the typical fall climb starting in October.
579 incidents 2021–2025. Peak year was 2025. $116K cumulative property loss.
| Year | Incidents | YoY | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2021 | 85 | — | |
| 2022 | 88 | +3.5% | |
| 2023 | 113 | +28.4% | |
| 2024 | 106 | -6.2% | |
| 2025 | 187 | +76.4% |
For the 32 building fires Sinking Spring departments responded to in 2025, here's how they were classified once investigators were finished.
NFIRS Area of Origin (AREA_ORIG) for the 65 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 | 13 | 20.0% | |
| 2 | Cooking area, kitchen | 10 | 15.4% | |
| 3 | Engine area, running gear, wheel area | 6 | 9.2% | |
| 4 | Bedroom - < 5 persons; included are jail or prison | 4 | 6.2% | |
| 5 | Undetermined | 4 | 6.2% | |
| 6 | Function area, other | 3 | 4.6% | |
| 7 | Common room, den, family room, living room, lounge | 2 | 3.1% | |
| 8 | Laundry area, wash house (laundry) | 2 | 3.1% | |
| 9 | Heating room or area, water heater area | 2 | 3.1% | |
| 10 | Operator/passenger area of transportation equip. | 2 | 3.1% | |
| 11 | All other areas | 17 | 26.2% |
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 Sinking Spring mix.
| # | Heat source | Count | Share | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Undetermined | 39 | 60.0% | |
| 2 | Radiated, conducted heat from operating equipment | 6 | 9.2% | |
| 3 | Heat source: other | 3 | 4.6% | |
| 4 | Heat from powered equipment, other | 3 | 4.6% | |
| 5 | Arcing | 3 | 4.6% | |
| 6 | Cigarette | 3 | 4.6% | |
| 7 | Hot ember or ash | 2 | 3.1% | |
| 8 | Spark, ember or flame from operating equipment | 1 | 1.5% | |
| 9 | Hot or smoldering object, other | 1 | 1.5% | |
| 10 | Fireworks | 1 | 1.5% | |
| 11 | All other sources | 3 | 4.6% |
Largest single-incident property losses reported by Sinking Spring departments in 2025. These 8 fires alone account for 96% of the city's annual total.
| # | Property loss | Type | Severity | Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | $35,000 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
| 2 | $20,000 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
| 3 | $10,000 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
| 4 | $10,000 | Road freight or transport vehicle fire | Significant | Investigated |
| 5 | $7,920 | Outside equipment fire | Significant | Investigated |
| 6 | $6,500 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
| 7 | $5,000 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
| 8 | $2,000 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
Per-capita rates let us compare apples to apples. Sinking Spring sits above the national average for incidents per resident.
8 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 | 1 | |
| 10-19 | 0 | |
| 20-29 | 2 | |
| 30-39 | 1 | |
| 40-49 | 1 | |
| 50-59 | 0 | |
| 60-69 | 1 | |
| 70-79 | 2 | |
| 80+ | 0 |
Top 25 wildfires (1992+) in the FPA-FOD ignitions database, scaled by acres. 6,242 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 | 34.3 mi | |
| 2015 | Equipment and vehicle use | 848 | 36.2 mi | |
| 2012 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 741 | 15.8 mi | |
| 2006 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 470 | 49.1 mi | |
| 2014 | Arson/incendiarism | 328 | 49.5 mi | |
| 2020 | Railroad operations and maintenance | 308 | 44.5 mi | |
| 2017 | Arson/incendiarism | 282 | 36.8 mi | |
| 2005 | Arson/incendiarism | 263 | 36.5 mi | |
| 2006 | Equipment and vehicle use | 250 | 42.9 mi | |
| 2002 | Natural | 250 | 42.0 mi | |
| 2008 | Recreation and ceremony | 193 | 32.6 mi | |
| 2015 | Arson/incendiarism | 184 | 36.5 mi |
Top 4 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 Sinking Spring. Useful comparison targets — same state, similar size, different fire profile.
4 departments report to NFIRS for incidents in Sinking Spring.
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.