In 2025, fire departments serving Spring Grove responded to 112 fire and hazmat incidents — from cooking fires to gas leaks to a single $13K 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 60% of all calls.
Apr peaks. Dec dips. Watch for the typical fall climb starting in October.
590 incidents 2021–2025. Peak year was 2021. $296K cumulative property loss.
| Year | Incidents | YoY | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2021 | 135 | — | |
| 2022 | 120 | -11.1% | |
| 2023 | 113 | -5.8% | |
| 2024 | 110 | -2.7% | |
| 2025 | 112 | +1.8% |
For the 38 building fires Spring Grove departments responded to in 2025, here's how they were classified once investigators were finished.
NFIRS Area of Origin (AREA_ORIG) for the 72 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 | 9 | 12.5% | |
| 2 | Cooking area, kitchen | 7 | 9.7% | |
| 3 | Open area - outside; included are farmland, field | 7 | 9.7% | |
| 4 | Duct: hvac, cable, exhaust, heating, or AC | 5 | 6.9% | |
| 5 | Engine area, running gear, wheel area | 5 | 6.9% | |
| 6 | Vehicle storage area; garage, carport | 3 | 4.2% | |
| 7 | Exterior balcony, unenclosed porch | 3 | 4.2% | |
| 8 | Other | 2 | 2.8% | |
| 9 | Common room, den, family room, living room, lounge | 2 | 2.8% | |
| 10 | Maintenance shop or area, paint shop or area | 2 | 2.8% | |
| 11 | All other areas | 27 | 37.5% |
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 Spring Grove mix.
| # | Heat source | Count | Share | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Undetermined | 15 | 20.8% | |
| 2 | Arcing | 11 | 15.3% | |
| 3 | Radiated, conducted heat from operating equipment | 10 | 13.9% | |
| 4 | Hot ember or ash | 10 | 13.9% | |
| 5 | Heat from powered equipment, other | 6 | 8.3% | |
| 6 | Spark, ember or flame from operating equipment | 4 | 5.6% | |
| 7 | Heat from direct flame, convection currents | 4 | 5.6% | |
| 8 | Hot or smoldering object, other | 3 | 4.2% | |
| 9 | Cigarette lighter | 2 | 2.8% | |
| 10 | Fireworks | 1 | 1.4% | |
| 11 | All other sources | 6 | 8.3% |
Largest single-incident property losses reported by Spring Grove departments in 2025. These 1 fires alone account for 100% of the city's annual total.
| # | Property loss | Type | Severity | Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | $12,581 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
Per-capita rates let us compare apples to apples. Spring Grove sits above the national average for incidents per resident.
Top 25 wildfires (1992+) in the FPA-FOD ignitions database, scaled by acres. 1,968 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 | 41.1 mi | |
| 2012 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 100 | 37.6 mi | |
| 2015 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 90 | 42.2 mi | |
| 2008 | Debris and open burning | 75 | 43.5 mi | |
| 2020 | Debris and open burning | 74 | 47.5 mi | |
| 2016 | Arson/incendiarism | 72 | 43.4 mi | |
| 2012 | Arson/incendiarism | 59 | 47.1 mi | |
| 2015 | Debris and open burning | 55 | 45.3 mi | |
| 2006 | Arson/incendiarism | 55 | 25.1 mi | |
| 2011 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 48 | 35.1 mi | |
| 2012 | Debris and open burning | 40 | 41.5 mi | |
| 2009 | Arson/incendiarism | 35 | 34.4 mi |
Top 6 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 Spring Grove. Useful comparison targets — same state, similar size, different fire profile.
4 departments report to NFIRS for incidents in Spring Grove.
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.