In 2025, fire departments serving Turtle Creek responded to 53 fire and hazmat incidents — from cooking fires to gas leaks to a single $244K 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 72% of all calls.
May peaks. Dec dips. Watch for the typical fall climb starting in October.
418 incidents 2021–2025. Peak year was 2023. $319K cumulative property loss. 1 civilian deaths.
| Year | Incidents | YoY | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2021 | 51 | — | |
| 2022 | 107 | +109.8% | |
| 2023 | 108 | +0.9% | |
| 2024 | 99 | -8.3% | |
| 2025 | 53 | -46.5% |
For the 21 building fires Turtle Creek departments responded to in 2025, here's how they were classified once investigators were finished.
NFIRS Area of Origin (AREA_ORIG) for the 51 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 | 15 | 29.4% | |
| 2 | Cooking area, kitchen | 14 | 27.5% | |
| 3 | Common room, den, family room, living room, lounge | 4 | 7.8% | |
| 4 | Corridor, mall | 2 | 3.9% | |
| 5 | Bedroom - < 5 persons; included are jail or prison | 2 | 3.9% | |
| 6 | Laundry area, wash house (laundry) | 2 | 3.9% | |
| 7 | Attic: vacant, crawl space above top story, cupola | 2 | 3.9% | |
| 8 | Exterior stairway, ramp, or fire escape | 1 | 2.0% | |
| 9 | Function area, other | 1 | 2.0% | |
| 10 | Bathroom, checkroom, lavatory, locker room | 1 | 2.0% | |
| 11 | All other areas | 7 | 13.7% |
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 Turtle Creek mix.
| # | Heat source | Count | Share | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Undetermined | 20 | 39.2% | |
| 2 | Heat from direct flame, convection currents | 7 | 13.7% | |
| 3 | Radiated, conducted heat from operating equipment | 6 | 11.8% | |
| 4 | Hot ember or ash | 3 | 5.9% | |
| 5 | Heat from powered equipment, other | 2 | 3.9% | |
| 6 | Arcing | 2 | 3.9% | |
| 7 | Cigarette | 2 | 3.9% | |
| 8 | Spark, ember or flame from operating equipment | 1 | 2.0% | |
| 9 | Hot or smoldering object, other | 1 | 2.0% | |
| 10 | Heat, spark from friction | 1 | 2.0% | |
| 11 | All other sources | 6 | 11.8% |
Largest single-incident property losses reported by Turtle Creek departments in 2025. These 5 fires alone account for 100% of the city's annual total.
| # | Property loss | Type | Severity | Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | $244,000 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
| 2 | $49,900 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
| 3 | $18,600 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
| 4 | $4,000 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
| 5 | $2,800 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
Per-capita rates let us compare apples to apples. Turtle Creek sits above the national average for incidents per resident.
Top 25 wildfires (1992+) in the FPA-FOD ignitions database, scaled by acres. 1,760 acres burned in this 50-mile radius. Each dot is a fire — bigger dots burned more land.
| Year | Cause | Acres | Distance | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2016 | Smoking | 394 | 47.0 mi | |
| 2016 | Arson/incendiarism | 190 | 43.3 mi | |
| 2016 | Arson/incendiarism | 173 | 30.1 mi | |
| 2003 | Equipment and vehicle use | 152 | 40.6 mi | |
| 2013 | Debris and open burning | 106 | 43.6 mi | |
| 2005 | Arson/incendiarism | 105 | 47.5 mi | |
| 2009 | Debris and open burning | 90 | 42.3 mi | |
| 2005 | Arson/incendiarism | 60 | 32.2 mi | |
| 1992 | Arson/incendiarism | 48 | 38.0 mi | |
| 2006 | Debris and open burning | 45 | 45.9 mi | |
| 2013 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 36 | 38.8 mi | |
| 2014 | Arson/incendiarism | 35 | 30.9 mi |
Top 3 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 Turtle Creek. Useful comparison targets — same state, similar size, different fire profile.
2 departments report to NFIRS for incidents in Turtle Creek.
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.