In 2025, fire departments serving South Williamsport responded to 37 fire and hazmat incidents — from cooking fires to gas leaks to a single $20K building blaze. Here's the full picture.
Incomplete 2025 data. South Williamsport's departments reported 37 incidents to NFIRS for 2025, against about 69 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 57% of all calls.
Aug peaks. Apr dips. Watch for the typical fall climb starting in October.
345 incidents 2021–2025. Peak year was 2022. $227K cumulative property loss.
| Year | Incidents | YoY | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2021 | 44 | — | |
| 2022 | 107 | +143.2% | |
| 2023 | 67 | -37.4% | |
| 2024 | 90 | +34.3% | |
| 2025* | 37 | — |
* Well below South Williamsport'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 6 building fires South Williamsport departments responded to in 2025, here's how they were classified once investigators were finished.
NFIRS Area of Origin (AREA_ORIG) for the 62 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 | 15 | 24.2% | |
| 2 | Outside area, other | 14 | 22.6% | |
| 3 | Bedroom - < 5 persons; included are jail or prison | 3 | 4.8% | |
| 4 | Vehicle storage area; garage, carport | 3 | 4.8% | |
| 5 | Vehicle area, other | 3 | 4.8% | |
| 6 | Wildland, woods | 3 | 4.8% | |
| 7 | Undetermined | 3 | 4.8% | |
| 8 | Other | 2 | 3.2% | |
| 9 | Duct: hvac, cable, exhaust, heating, or AC | 2 | 3.2% | |
| 10 | Heating room or area, water heater area | 2 | 3.2% | |
| 11 | All other areas | 12 | 19.4% |
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 Williamsport mix.
| # | Heat source | Count | Share | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Undetermined | 17 | 27.4% | |
| 2 | Radiated, conducted heat from operating equipment | 10 | 16.1% | |
| 3 | Arcing | 6 | 9.7% | |
| 4 | Hot ember or ash | 6 | 9.7% | |
| 5 | Heat source: other | 3 | 4.8% | |
| 6 | Heat from powered equipment, other | 3 | 4.8% | |
| 7 | Spark, ember or flame from operating equipment | 3 | 4.8% | |
| 8 | Cigarette lighter | 3 | 4.8% | |
| 9 | Match | 2 | 3.2% | |
| 10 | Hot or smoldering object, other | 1 | 1.6% | |
| 11 | All other sources | 8 | 12.9% |
Largest single-incident property losses reported by South Williamsport departments in 2025. These 3 fires alone account for 100% of the city's annual total.
| # | Property loss | Type | Severity | Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | $20,000 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
| 2 | $5,000 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
| 3 | $1 | Forest, woods or wildland fire | Significant | Investigated |
Per-capita rates let us compare apples to apples. South Williamsport sits below the national average for incidents per resident.
Top 25 wildfires (1992+) in the FPA-FOD ignitions database, scaled by acres. 10,837 acres burned in this 50-mile radius. Each dot is a fire — bigger dots burned more land.
| Year | Cause | Acres | Distance | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2008 | Arson/incendiarism | 4,000 | 30.5 mi | |
| 2006 | Arson/incendiarism | 1,329 | 42.6 mi | |
| 2006 | Arson/incendiarism | 917 | 44.7 mi | |
| 2018 | Debris and open burning | 688 | 48.6 mi | |
| 2006 | Arson/incendiarism | 605 | 22.9 mi | |
| 2001 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 500 | 38.0 mi | |
| 2006 | Equipment and vehicle use | 424 | 49.6 mi | |
| 2006 | Arson/incendiarism | 348 | 42.6 mi | |
| 2008 | Recreation and ceremony | 193 | 49.4 mi | |
| 2015 | Arson/incendiarism | 184 | 49.6 mi | |
| 2002 | Arson/incendiarism | 183 | 48.6 mi | |
| 2010 | Natural | 161 | 20.2 mi |
Top 2 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 South Williamsport. Useful comparison targets — same state, similar size, different fire profile.
2 departments report to NFIRS for incidents in South Williamsport.
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.