In 2025, fire departments serving Somerset responded to 113 fire and hazmat incidents — from cooking fires to gas leaks to a single $300K building blaze. Here's the full picture.
Power line down lead by count. Building fires lead by dollars. Together the top five categories make up about 63% of all calls.
Mar peaks. Dec dips. Watch for the typical fall climb starting in October.
755 incidents 2021–2025. Peak year was 2023. $1.2M cumulative property loss. 1 civilian deaths.
| Year | Incidents | YoY | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2021 | 107 | — | |
| 2022 | 170 | +58.9% | |
| 2023 | 209 | +22.9% | |
| 2024 | 156 | -25.4% | |
| 2025 | 113 | -27.6% |
For the 11 building fires Somerset departments responded to in 2025, here's how they were classified once investigators were finished.
NFIRS Area of Origin (AREA_ORIG) for the 130 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 | 21 | 16.2% | |
| 2 | Engine area, running gear, wheel area | 20 | 15.4% | |
| 3 | Undetermined | 18 | 13.8% | |
| 4 | Other | 8 | 6.2% | |
| 5 | Cooking area, kitchen | 8 | 6.2% | |
| 6 | Function area, other | 6 | 4.6% | |
| 7 | Vehicle area, other | 6 | 4.6% | |
| 8 | Exterior, exposed surface | 5 | 3.8% | |
| 9 | Wildland, woods | 4 | 3.1% | |
| 10 | Egress/exit, other | 3 | 2.3% | |
| 11 | All other areas | 31 | 23.8% |
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 Somerset mix.
| # | Heat source | Count | Share | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Undetermined | 52 | 40.0% | |
| 2 | Hot ember or ash | 12 | 9.2% | |
| 3 | Radiated, conducted heat from operating equipment | 11 | 8.5% | |
| 4 | Arcing | 10 | 7.7% | |
| 5 | Heat source: other | 7 | 5.4% | |
| 6 | Heat from powered equipment, other | 7 | 5.4% | |
| 7 | Spark, ember or flame from operating equipment | 5 | 3.8% | |
| 8 | Heat, spark from friction | 4 | 3.1% | |
| 9 | Cigarette | 4 | 3.1% | |
| 10 | Flying brand, ember, spark | 4 | 3.1% | |
| 11 | All other sources | 14 | 10.8% |
Largest single-incident property losses reported by Somerset departments in 2025. These 8 fires alone account for 100% of the city's annual total.
| # | Property loss | Type | Severity | Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | $300,000 | Road freight or transport vehicle fire | Major | Investigated |
| 2 | $50,000 | Camper or recreational vehicle (RV) fire | Significant | Investigated |
| 3 | $25,000 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
| 4 | $25,000 | Passenger vehicle fire | Significant | Investigated |
| 5 | $10,000 | Passenger vehicle fire | Significant | Investigated |
| 6 | $10,000 | Passenger vehicle fire | Significant | Investigated |
| 7 | $4,500 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
| 8 | $1,000 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
Per-capita rates let us compare apples to apples. Somerset sits above the national average for incidents per resident.
Top 25 wildfires (1992+) in the FPA-FOD ignitions database, scaled by acres. 4,756 acres burned in this 50-mile radius. Each dot is a fire — bigger dots burned more land.
| Year | Cause | Acres | Distance | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2014 | Arson/incendiarism | 888 | 24.4 mi | |
| 2005 | Railroad operations and maintenance | 755 | 18.9 mi | |
| 2008 | Railroad operations and maintenance | 480 | 20.5 mi | |
| 2016 | Smoking | 394 | 37.9 mi | |
| 2016 | Arson/incendiarism | 345 | 47.6 mi | |
| 2009 | Railroad operations and maintenance | 297 | 48.4 mi | |
| 2017 | Railroad operations and maintenance | 295 | 44.5 mi | |
| 2016 | Arson/incendiarism | 190 | 27.6 mi | |
| 2016 | Arson/incendiarism | 173 | 25.2 mi | |
| 2005 | Arson/incendiarism | 105 | 35.6 mi | |
| 2009 | Debris and open burning | 90 | 7.9 mi | |
| 2009 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 76 | 27.9 mi |
Top 10 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 Somerset. Useful comparison targets — same state, similar size, different fire profile.
3 departments report to NFIRS for incidents in Somerset.
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.