In 2025, fire departments serving Williamsport responded to 15 fire and hazmat incidents . Here's the full picture.
Building fires lead by count. Building fires lead by dollars. Together the top five categories make up about 80% of all calls.
Jan peaks. Feb dips. Watch for the typical fall climb starting in October.
125 incidents 2021–2025. Peak year was 2022. $283K cumulative property loss.
| Year | Incidents | YoY | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2021 | 24 | — | |
| 2022 | 39 | +62.5% | |
| 2023 | 35 | -10.3% | |
| 2024* | 12 | — | |
| 2025 | 15 | — |
* Well below Williamsport'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 5 building fires Williamsport departments responded to in 2025, here's how they were classified once investigators were finished.
NFIRS Area of Origin (AREA_ORIG) for the 33 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 | 9 | 27.3% | |
| 2 | Undetermined | 9 | 27.3% | |
| 3 | Engine area, running gear, wheel area | 4 | 12.1% | |
| 4 | Open area - outside; included are farmland, field | 4 | 12.1% | |
| 5 | Other | 2 | 6.1% | |
| 6 | Cooking area, kitchen | 1 | 3.0% | |
| 7 | Equipment or service area, other | 1 | 3.0% | |
| 8 | Structural area, other | 1 | 3.0% | |
| 9 | Wall assembly | 1 | 3.0% | |
| 10 | Vehicle area, other | 1 | 3.0% |
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 Williamsport mix.
| # | Heat source | Count | Share | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Undetermined | 14 | 42.4% | |
| 2 | Match | 4 | 12.1% | |
| 3 | Spark, ember or flame from operating equipment | 3 | 9.1% | |
| 4 | Hot or smoldering object, other | 3 | 9.1% | |
| 5 | Heat, spark from friction | 3 | 9.1% | |
| 6 | Arcing | 2 | 6.1% | |
| 7 | Heat from powered equipment, other | 1 | 3.0% | |
| 8 | Molten, hot material | 1 | 3.0% | |
| 9 | Hot ember or ash | 1 | 3.0% | |
| 10 | Cigarette | 1 | 3.0% |
Per-capita rates let us compare apples to apples. Williamsport sits above the national average for incidents per resident.
Top 25 wildfires (1992+) in the FPA-FOD ignitions database, scaled by acres. 2,176 acres burned in this 50-mile radius. Each dot is a fire — bigger dots burned more land.
| Year | Cause | Acres | Distance | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2010 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 355 | 23.9 mi | |
| 2013 | Arson/incendiarism | 280 | 30.1 mi | |
| 2010 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 137 | 48.1 mi | |
| 2015 | Power generation/transmission/distribution | 131 | 44.5 mi | |
| 2012 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 125 | 43.4 mi | |
| 2009 | Smoking | 100 | 38.8 mi | |
| 2012 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 100 | 38.1 mi | |
| 2010 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 90 | 31.4 mi | |
| 2010 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 75 | 37.6 mi | |
| 2014 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 70 | 39.3 mi | |
| 2014 | Debris and open burning | 65 | 46.8 mi | |
| 2007 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 60 | 44.2 mi |
Top 3 ZIP codes by NFIRS incident count across 2021–2025. Each ZIP has its own fire profile — dive in for neighborhood-level context.
Six Ohio cities with population within ±25% of Williamsport. Useful comparison targets — same state, similar size, different fire profile.
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.