In 2025, fire departments serving Waynesboro responded to 185 fire and hazmat incidents — from cooking fires to gas leaks to a single $400K 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 63% of all calls.
Apr peaks. Dec dips. Watch for the typical fall climb starting in October.
986 incidents 2021–2025. Peak year was 2021. $1.8M cumulative property loss.
| Year | Incidents | YoY | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2021 | 245 | — | |
| 2022 | 160 | -34.7% | |
| 2023 | 209 | +30.6% | |
| 2024 | 187 | -10.5% | |
| 2025 | 185 | -1.1% |
For the 63 building fires Waynesboro departments responded to in 2025, here's how they were classified once investigators were finished.
NFIRS Area of Origin (AREA_ORIG) for the 193 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 | 35 | 18.1% | |
| 2 | Cooking area, kitchen | 19 | 9.8% | |
| 3 | Open area - outside; included are farmland, field | 17 | 8.8% | |
| 4 | Undetermined | 14 | 7.3% | |
| 5 | Chute/container - trash, rubbish, waste | 11 | 5.7% | |
| 6 | Engine area, running gear, wheel area | 11 | 5.7% | |
| 7 | Wildland, woods | 11 | 5.7% | |
| 8 | Vehicle area, other | 10 | 5.2% | |
| 9 | Other | 6 | 3.1% | |
| 10 | Structural area, other | 5 | 2.6% | |
| 11 | All other areas | 54 | 28.0% |
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 Waynesboro mix.
| # | Heat source | Count | Share | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Undetermined | 71 | 36.8% | |
| 2 | Hot ember or ash | 15 | 7.8% | |
| 3 | Arcing | 14 | 7.3% | |
| 4 | Heat from powered equipment, other | 12 | 6.2% | |
| 5 | Cigarette | 12 | 6.2% | |
| 6 | Spark, ember or flame from operating equipment | 11 | 5.7% | |
| 7 | Radiated, conducted heat from operating equipment | 9 | 4.7% | |
| 8 | Heat source: other | 6 | 3.1% | |
| 9 | Hot or smoldering object, other | 6 | 3.1% | |
| 10 | Cigarette lighter | 6 | 3.1% | |
| 11 | All other sources | 31 | 16.1% |
Largest single-incident property losses reported by Waynesboro departments in 2025. These 8 fires alone account for 99% of the city's annual total.
| # | Property loss | Type | Severity | Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | $400,000 | Building fires | Major | Investigated |
| 2 | $190,000 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
| 3 | $15,000 | Passenger vehicle fire | Significant | Investigated |
| 4 | $15,000 | Passenger vehicle fire | Significant | Investigated |
| 5 | $10,000 | Arcing, shorted electrical equipment | Significant | Investigated |
| 6 | $5,000 | Passenger vehicle fire | Significant | Investigated |
| 7 | $5,000 | Passenger vehicle fire | Significant | Investigated |
| 8 | $5,000 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
Per-capita rates let us compare apples to apples. Waynesboro sits above the national average for incidents per resident.
Top 25 wildfires (1992+) in the FPA-FOD ignitions database, scaled by acres. 4,439 acres burned in this 50-mile radius. Each dot is a fire — bigger dots burned more land.
| Year | Cause | Acres | Distance | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2001 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 1,000 | 19.7 mi | |
| 2011 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 461 | 45.6 mi | |
| 1996 | Recreation and ceremony | 405 | 45.3 mi | |
| 1996 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 400 | 46.3 mi | |
| 1996 | Arson/incendiarism | 350 | 48.1 mi | |
| 2016 | Arson/incendiarism | 345 | 41.2 mi | |
| 2000 | Natural | 300 | 46.2 mi | |
| 1995 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 150 | 46.2 mi | |
| 2012 | Arson/incendiarism | 145 | 23.0 mi | |
| 2006 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 105 | 44.6 mi | |
| 2018 | Debris and open burning | 76 | 36.9 mi | |
| 2016 | Arson/incendiarism | 72 | 31.4 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 Waynesboro. Useful comparison targets — same state, similar size, different fire profile.
1 departments report to NFIRS for incidents in Waynesboro.
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.