In 2025, fire departments serving Wernersville responded to 64 fire and hazmat incidents — from cooking fires to gas leaks to a single $5K building blaze. Here's the full picture.
Power line down lead by count. Building fires lead by dollars. Together the top five categories make up about 64% of all calls.
Feb peaks. Jul dips. Watch for the typical fall climb starting in October.
384 incidents 2021–2025. Peak year was 2023. $5K cumulative property loss.
| Year | Incidents | YoY | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2021 | 54 | — | |
| 2022 | 67 | +24.1% | |
| 2023 | 117 | +74.6% | |
| 2024 | 82 | -29.9% | |
| 2025 | 64 | -22.0% |
For the 6 building fires Wernersville departments responded to in 2025, here's how they were classified once investigators were finished.
NFIRS Area of Origin (AREA_ORIG) for the 26 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 | 8 | 30.8% | |
| 2 | Outside area, other | 3 | 11.5% | |
| 3 | Undetermined | 2 | 7.7% | |
| 4 | Other | 1 | 3.8% | |
| 5 | Dining room, cafeteria bar area, beverage service | 1 | 3.8% | |
| 6 | Closet | 1 | 3.8% | |
| 7 | Equipment or service area, other | 1 | 3.8% | |
| 8 | Maintenance shop or area, paint shop or area | 1 | 3.8% | |
| 9 | Exterior balcony, unenclosed porch | 1 | 3.8% | |
| 10 | Vehicle area, other | 1 | 3.8% | |
| 11 | All other areas | 6 | 23.1% |
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 Wernersville mix.
| # | Heat source | Count | Share | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Undetermined | 9 | 34.6% | |
| 2 | Radiated, conducted heat from operating equipment | 6 | 23.1% | |
| 3 | Arcing | 3 | 11.5% | |
| 4 | Heat from powered equipment, other | 2 | 7.7% | |
| 5 | Heat from direct flame, convection currents | 2 | 7.7% | |
| 6 | Heat source: other | 1 | 3.8% | |
| 7 | Spark, ember or flame from operating equipment | 1 | 3.8% | |
| 8 | Hot ember or ash | 1 | 3.8% | |
| 9 | Chemical reaction | 1 | 3.8% |
Largest single-incident property losses reported by Wernersville departments in 2025. These 1 fires alone account for 100% of the city's annual total.
| # | Property loss | Type | Severity | Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | $5,000 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
Per-capita rates let us compare apples to apples. Wernersville sits above the national average for incidents per resident.
Top 25 wildfires (1992+) in the FPA-FOD ignitions database, scaled by acres. 5,824 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 | 31.3 mi | |
| 2015 | Equipment and vehicle use | 848 | 37.5 mi | |
| 2012 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 741 | 18.7 mi | |
| 2014 | Arson/incendiarism | 328 | 49.9 mi | |
| 2020 | Railroad operations and maintenance | 308 | 45.2 mi | |
| 2017 | Arson/incendiarism | 282 | 35.9 mi | |
| 2005 | Arson/incendiarism | 263 | 35.6 mi | |
| 2006 | Equipment and vehicle use | 250 | 43.6 mi | |
| 2002 | Natural | 250 | 43.6 mi | |
| 2008 | Recreation and ceremony | 193 | 31.0 mi | |
| 2015 | Arson/incendiarism | 184 | 35.4 mi | |
| 2002 | Railroad operations and maintenance | 168 | 34.9 mi |
Top 5 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 Wernersville. Useful comparison targets — same state, similar size, different fire profile.
2 departments report to NFIRS for incidents in Wernersville.
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.