In 2025, fire departments serving West Homestead responded to 31 fire and hazmat incidents — from cooking fires to gas leaks to a single $62K building blaze. Here's the full picture.
Gas leak (natural gas or LPG) lead by count. Building fires lead by dollars. Together the top five categories make up about 81% of all calls.
Jan peaks. May dips. Watch for the typical fall climb starting in October.
253 incidents 2021–2025. Peak year was 2023. $62K cumulative property loss.
| Year | Incidents | YoY | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2021 | 36 | — | |
| 2022 | 52 | +44.4% | |
| 2023 | 72 | +38.5% | |
| 2024 | 62 | -13.9% | |
| 2025 | 31 | -50.0% |
For the 9 building fires West Homestead departments responded to in 2025, here's how they were classified once investigators were finished.
NFIRS Area of Origin (AREA_ORIG) for the 44 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 | 34.1% | |
| 2 | Undetermined | 12 | 27.3% | |
| 3 | Other | 5 | 11.4% | |
| 4 | Vehicle area, other | 4 | 9.1% | |
| 5 | Cooking area, kitchen | 2 | 4.5% | |
| 6 | Engine area, running gear, wheel area | 2 | 4.5% | |
| 7 | Exterior stairway, ramp, or fire escape | 1 | 2.3% | |
| 8 | Entrance way, lobby | 1 | 2.3% | |
| 9 | Function area, other | 1 | 2.3% | |
| 10 | Open area - outside; included are farmland, field | 1 | 2.3% |
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 West Homestead mix.
| # | Heat source | Count | Share | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Undetermined | 39 | 88.6% | |
| 2 | Cigarette | 2 | 4.5% | |
| 3 | Heat source: other | 1 | 2.3% | |
| 4 | Arcing | 1 | 2.3% | |
| 5 | Hot ember or ash | 1 | 2.3% |
Largest single-incident property losses reported by West Homestead departments in 2025. These 1 fires alone account for 100% of the city's annual total.
| # | Property loss | Type | Severity | Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | $61,700 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
Per-capita rates let us compare apples to apples. West Homestead sits above the national average for incidents per resident.
Top 25 wildfires (1992+) in the FPA-FOD ignitions database, scaled by acres. 1,680 acres burned in this 50-mile radius. Each dot is a fire — bigger dots burned more land.
| Year | Cause | Acres | Distance | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2016 | Smoking | 394 | 47.3 mi | |
| 2016 | Arson/incendiarism | 190 | 48.4 mi | |
| 2016 | Arson/incendiarism | 173 | 35.0 mi | |
| 2003 | Equipment and vehicle use | 152 | 43.0 mi | |
| 2013 | Debris and open burning | 106 | 41.5 mi | |
| 2009 | Debris and open burning | 90 | 46.5 mi | |
| 2005 | Arson/incendiarism | 60 | 34.1 mi | |
| 1992 | Arson/incendiarism | 48 | 32.8 mi | |
| 2006 | Debris and open burning | 45 | 47.3 mi | |
| 2013 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 36 | 43.5 mi | |
| 2014 | Arson/incendiarism | 35 | 32.7 mi | |
| 2016 | Railroad operations and maintenance | 30 | 36.5 mi |
Top 1 ZIP codes by NFIRS incident count across 2021–2025. Each ZIP has its own fire profile — dive in for neighborhood-level context.
| # | ZIP | 5-yr incidents | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 15120 | 253 |
Six Pennsylvania cities with population within ±25% of West Homestead. Useful comparison targets — same state, similar size, different fire profile.
1 departments report to NFIRS for incidents in West Homestead.
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.