In 2025, fire departments serving West Newton responded to 29 fire and hazmat incidents . Here's the full picture.
Incomplete 2025 data. West Newton's departments reported 29 incidents to NFIRS for 2025, against about 105 in a typical year, so 2025 figures on this page undercount. The 2021–2025 totals are the better guide.
Power line down lead by count. Building fires lead by dollars. Together the top five categories make up about 79% of all calls.
Mar peaks. May dips. Watch for the typical fall climb starting in October.
525 incidents 2021–2025. Peak year was 2021. $150K cumulative property loss.
| Year | Incidents | YoY | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2021 | 164 | — | |
| 2022 | 126 | -23.2% | |
| 2023 | 92 | -27.0% | |
| 2024 | 114 | +23.9% | |
| 2025* | 29 | — |
* Well below West Newton's usual volume. That almost always means one or more departments didn't submit a full year to NFIRS, not that fires dropped, so no year-over-year change is shown for it.
For the 6 building fires West Newton departments responded to in 2025, here's how they were classified once investigators were finished.
NFIRS Area of Origin (AREA_ORIG) for the 76 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 | Undetermined | 31 | 40.8% | |
| 2 | Outside area, other | 6 | 7.9% | |
| 3 | Common room, den, family room, living room, lounge | 5 | 6.6% | |
| 4 | Structural area, other | 5 | 6.6% | |
| 5 | Wall surface: exterior | 5 | 6.6% | |
| 6 | Other | 3 | 3.9% | |
| 7 | Vehicle area, other | 3 | 3.9% | |
| 8 | Corridor, mall | 2 | 2.6% | |
| 9 | Function area, other | 2 | 2.6% | |
| 10 | Cooking area, kitchen | 2 | 2.6% | |
| 11 | All other areas | 12 | 15.8% |
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 Newton mix.
| # | Heat source | Count | Share | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Undetermined | 48 | 63.2% | |
| 2 | Arcing | 8 | 10.5% | |
| 3 | Hot ember or ash | 5 | 6.6% | |
| 4 | Heat source: other | 3 | 3.9% | |
| 5 | Spark, ember or flame from operating equipment | 2 | 2.6% | |
| 6 | Heat from powered equipment, other | 1 | 1.3% | |
| 7 | Radiated, conducted heat from operating equipment | 1 | 1.3% | |
| 8 | Heat, spark from friction | 1 | 1.3% | |
| 9 | Cigarette | 1 | 1.3% | |
| 10 | Cigarette lighter | 1 | 1.3% | |
| 11 | All other sources | 5 | 6.6% |
Per-capita rates let us compare apples to apples. West Newton sits above the national average for incidents per resident.
Top 25 wildfires (1992+) in the FPA-FOD ignitions database, scaled by acres. 1,581 acres burned in this 50-mile radius. Each dot is a fire — bigger dots burned more land.
| Year | Cause | Acres | Distance | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2016 | Smoking | 394 | 33.0 mi | |
| 2016 | Arson/incendiarism | 190 | 42.7 mi | |
| 2016 | Arson/incendiarism | 173 | 28.6 mi | |
| 2005 | Arson/incendiarism | 105 | 48.9 mi | |
| 2009 | Debris and open burning | 90 | 35.0 mi | |
| 2005 | Arson/incendiarism | 60 | 18.9 mi | |
| 2005 | Debris and open burning | 60 | 46.8 mi | |
| 1992 | Arson/incendiarism | 48 | 41.4 mi | |
| 2009 | Equipment and vehicle use | 40 | 48.0 mi | |
| 2013 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 36 | 34.4 mi | |
| 2014 | Arson/incendiarism | 35 | 17.5 mi | |
| 2016 | Railroad operations and maintenance | 30 | 21.4 mi |
Top 8 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 West Newton. Useful comparison targets — same state, similar size, different fire profile.
4 departments report to NFIRS for incidents in West Newton.
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.