In 2025, fire departments serving Stewartstown responded to 31 fire and hazmat incidents — from cooking fires to gas leaks to a single $100K 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 94% of all calls.
Aug peaks. Apr dips. Watch for the typical fall climb starting in October.
236 incidents 2021–2025. Peak year was 2021. $518K cumulative property loss. 2 civilian deaths.
| Year | Incidents | YoY | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2021 | 80 | — | |
| 2022 | 53 | -33.8% | |
| 2023 | 34 | -35.8% | |
| 2024 | 38 | +11.8% | |
| 2025 | 31 | -18.4% |
For the 16 building fires Stewartstown departments responded to in 2025, here's how they were classified once investigators were finished.
NFIRS Area of Origin (AREA_ORIG) for the 45 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 | 6 | 13.3% | |
| 2 | Open area - outside; included are farmland, field | 6 | 13.3% | |
| 3 | Cooking area, kitchen | 5 | 11.1% | |
| 4 | Vehicle area, other | 5 | 11.1% | |
| 5 | Interior stairway or ramp | 2 | 4.4% | |
| 6 | Storage area, other | 2 | 4.4% | |
| 7 | Storage: supplies or tools; dead storage | 2 | 4.4% | |
| 8 | Chute/container - trash, rubbish, waste | 2 | 4.4% | |
| 9 | Exterior balcony, unenclosed porch | 2 | 4.4% | |
| 10 | Other | 1 | 2.2% | |
| 11 | All other areas | 12 | 26.7% |
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 Stewartstown mix.
| # | Heat source | Count | Share | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Undetermined | 12 | 26.7% | |
| 2 | Arcing | 8 | 17.8% | |
| 3 | Heat from powered equipment, other | 5 | 11.1% | |
| 4 | Hot ember or ash | 5 | 11.1% | |
| 5 | Cigarette | 3 | 6.7% | |
| 6 | Hot or smoldering object, other | 2 | 4.4% | |
| 7 | Heat from other open flame or smoking materials | 2 | 4.4% | |
| 8 | Flying brand, ember, spark | 2 | 4.4% | |
| 9 | Heat source: other | 1 | 2.2% | |
| 10 | Radiated, conducted heat from operating equipment | 1 | 2.2% | |
| 11 | All other sources | 4 | 8.9% |
Largest single-incident property losses reported by Stewartstown departments in 2025. These 3 fires alone account for 100% of the city's annual total.
| # | Property loss | Type | Severity | Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | $100,000 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
| 2 | $100,000 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
| 3 | $100,000 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
Per-capita rates let us compare apples to apples. Stewartstown sits above the national average for incidents per resident.
Top 25 wildfires (1992+) in the FPA-FOD ignitions database, scaled by acres. 2,392 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 | 48.5 mi | |
| 2001 | Arson/incendiarism | 522 | 40.5 mi | |
| 2012 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 100 | 45.8 mi | |
| 2015 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 90 | 48.7 mi | |
| 2008 | Debris and open burning | 75 | 28.0 mi | |
| 2006 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 59 | 44.9 mi | |
| 2015 | Debris and open burning | 55 | 44.8 mi | |
| 2006 | Arson/incendiarism | 55 | 42.0 mi | |
| 2011 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 48 | 39.8 mi | |
| 2011 | Smoking | 48 | 37.5 mi | |
| 2012 | Equipment and vehicle use | 39 | 49.7 mi | |
| 2009 | Arson/incendiarism | 35 | 47.6 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 Stewartstown. Useful comparison targets — same state, similar size, different fire profile.
1 departments report to NFIRS for incidents in Stewartstown.
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.