In 2025, fire departments serving South Fork responded to 14 fire and hazmat incidents — from cooking fires to gas leaks to a single $70K building blaze. Here's the full picture.
Incomplete 2025 data. South Fork's departments reported 14 incidents to NFIRS for 2025, against about 30 in a typical year, so 2025 figures on this page undercount. The 2021–2025 totals are the better guide.
Building fires lead by count. Building fires lead by dollars. Together the top five categories make up about 93% of all calls.
Apr peaks. Feb dips. Watch for the typical fall climb starting in October.
150 incidents 2021–2025. Peak year was 2022. $70K cumulative property loss.
| Year | Incidents | YoY | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2021 | 42 | — | |
| 2022 | 45 | +7.1% | |
| 2023 | 29 | -35.6% | |
| 2024 | 20 | -31.0% | |
| 2025* | 14 | — |
* Well below South Fork's usual volume. That almost always means one or more departments didn't submit a full year to NFIRS, not that fires dropped, so no year-over-year change is shown for it.
For the 7 building fires South Fork departments responded to in 2025, here's how they were classified once investigators were finished.
NFIRS Area of Origin (AREA_ORIG) for the 41 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 | Other | 8 | 19.5% | |
| 2 | Undetermined | 7 | 17.1% | |
| 3 | Outside area, other | 5 | 12.2% | |
| 4 | Multiple areas | 4 | 9.8% | |
| 5 | Heating room or area, water heater area | 3 | 7.3% | |
| 6 | Egress/exit, other | 2 | 4.9% | |
| 7 | Function area, other | 2 | 4.9% | |
| 8 | Vehicle area, other | 2 | 4.9% | |
| 9 | Escalator - exterior, interior | 1 | 2.4% | |
| 10 | Entrance way, lobby | 1 | 2.4% | |
| 11 | All other areas | 6 | 14.6% |
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 South Fork mix.
| # | Heat source | Count | Share | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Heat source: other | 10 | 24.4% | |
| 2 | Undetermined | 10 | 24.4% | |
| 3 | Multiple heat sources including multiple ignitions | 8 | 19.5% | |
| 4 | Hot ember or ash | 5 | 12.2% | |
| 5 | Heat from other open flame or smoking materials | 4 | 9.8% | |
| 6 | Heat from powered equipment, other | 2 | 4.9% | |
| 7 | Fireworks | 1 | 2.4% | |
| 8 | Cigarette lighter | 1 | 2.4% |
Largest single-incident property losses reported by South Fork departments in 2025. These 1 fires alone account for 100% of the city's annual total.
| # | Property loss | Type | Severity | Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | $70,000 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
Per-capita rates let us compare apples to apples. South Fork sits above the national average for incidents per resident.
Top 25 wildfires (1992+) in the FPA-FOD ignitions database, scaled by acres. 5,361 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 | 36.2 mi | |
| 2005 | Railroad operations and maintenance | 755 | 36.1 mi | |
| 2008 | Railroad operations and maintenance | 480 | 37.0 mi | |
| 2006 | Arson/incendiarism | 352 | 44.4 mi | |
| 2016 | Arson/incendiarism | 345 | 35.8 mi | |
| 2000 | Natural | 300 | 33.9 mi | |
| 2009 | Railroad operations and maintenance | 297 | 22.1 mi | |
| 2017 | Railroad operations and maintenance | 295 | 17.0 mi | |
| 2016 | Arson/incendiarism | 190 | 11.2 mi | |
| 2016 | Arson/incendiarism | 173 | 24.5 mi | |
| 2003 | Railroad operations and maintenance | 173 | 36.9 mi | |
| 2010 | Arson/incendiarism | 160 | 27.1 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 | 15956 | 150 |
Six Pennsylvania cities with population within ±25% of South Fork. Useful comparison targets — same state, similar size, different fire profile.
1 departments report to NFIRS for incidents in South Fork.
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.