In 2025, fire departments serving White Oak responded to 30 fire and hazmat incidents . Here's the full picture.
Incomplete 2025 data. White Oak's departments reported 30 incidents to NFIRS for 2025, against about 75 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 80% of all calls.
Mar peaks. Jan dips. Watch for the typical fall climb starting in October.
375 incidents 2021–2025. Peak year was 2023.
| Year | Incidents | YoY | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2021 | 89 | — | |
| 2022 | 84 | -5.6% | |
| 2023 | 101 | +20.2% | |
| 2024 | 71 | -29.7% | |
| 2025* | 30 | — |
* Well below White Oak'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 0 building fires White Oak departments responded to in 2025, here's how they were classified once investigators were finished.
NFIRS Area of Origin (AREA_ORIG) for the 97 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 | 26 | 26.8% | |
| 2 | Engine area, running gear, wheel area | 17 | 17.5% | |
| 3 | Undetermined | 13 | 13.4% | |
| 4 | Other | 10 | 10.3% | |
| 5 | Cooking area, kitchen | 8 | 8.2% | |
| 6 | Cargo/trunk area - all vehicles | 5 | 5.2% | |
| 7 | Open area - outside; included are farmland, field | 3 | 3.1% | |
| 8 | Bathroom, checkroom, lavatory, locker room | 2 | 2.1% | |
| 9 | Chute/container - trash, rubbish, waste | 2 | 2.1% | |
| 10 | Exterior balcony, unenclosed porch | 2 | 2.1% | |
| 11 | All other areas | 9 | 9.3% |
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 White Oak mix.
| # | Heat source | Count | Share | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Undetermined | 59 | 60.8% | |
| 2 | Heat source: other | 7 | 7.2% | |
| 3 | Arcing | 4 | 4.1% | |
| 4 | Radiated, conducted heat from operating equipment | 3 | 3.1% | |
| 5 | Fireworks | 3 | 3.1% | |
| 6 | Match | 3 | 3.1% | |
| 7 | Cigarette lighter | 3 | 3.1% | |
| 8 | Heat from powered equipment, other | 2 | 2.1% | |
| 9 | Heat, spark from friction | 2 | 2.1% | |
| 10 | Hot ember or ash | 2 | 2.1% | |
| 11 | All other sources | 9 | 9.3% |
Per-capita rates let us compare apples to apples. White Oak sits below the national average for incidents per resident.
Top 25 wildfires (1992+) in the FPA-FOD ignitions database, scaled by acres. 1,723 acres burned in this 50-mile radius. Each dot is a fire — bigger dots burned more land.
| Year | Cause | Acres | Distance | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2016 | Smoking | 394 | 42.3 mi | |
| 2016 | Arson/incendiarism | 190 | 42.4 mi | |
| 2016 | Arson/incendiarism | 173 | 28.6 mi | |
| 2003 | Equipment and vehicle use | 152 | 44.9 mi | |
| 2013 | Debris and open burning | 106 | 48.0 mi | |
| 2005 | Arson/incendiarism | 105 | 47.4 mi | |
| 2009 | Debris and open burning | 90 | 39.2 mi | |
| 2005 | Arson/incendiarism | 60 | 27.6 mi | |
| 1992 | Arson/incendiarism | 48 | 38.8 mi | |
| 2013 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 36 | 36.6 mi | |
| 2014 | Arson/incendiarism | 35 | 26.3 mi | |
| 2016 | Railroad operations and maintenance | 30 | 29.9 mi |
Top 2 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 White Oak. Useful comparison targets — same state, similar size, different fire profile.
2 departments report to NFIRS for incidents in White Oak.
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.