In 2025, fire departments serving Berks County responded to 3,418 fire and hazmat incidents — including a single $503K property loss.
Building fires lead by count. Top five categories make up about 52% of all calls.
Mar peaks. Dec dips.
29,003 incidents from 2021 through 2025.
| Year | Incidents | |
|---|---|---|
| 2021 | 5,873 | |
| 2022 | 6,723 | |
| 2023 | 7,004 | |
| 2024 | 5,985 | |
| 2025 | 3,418 |
For the 597 building fires departments responded to in 2025, here's how investigators classified them.
Largest single-incident property losses in Berks County during 2025. These 10 fires alone account for 56% of the county's total.
| # | Property loss | City | Type | Severity |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | $502,700 | LEESPORT | Building fires | Major |
| 2 | $300,000 | READING | Building or structure weakened or collapsed | Major |
| 3 | $300,000 | READING | Building fires | Major |
| 4 | $274,412 | ROBESONIA | Building fires | Major |
| 5 | $245,000 | BIRDSBORO | Building fires | Significant |
| 6 | $150,000 | READING | Building fires | Significant |
| 7 | $150,000 | READING | Building fires | Significant |
| 8 | $125,000 | Bechtelsville | Building fires | Significant |
| 9 | $100,000 | BIRDSBORO | Outside equipment fire | Significant |
| 10 | $100,000 | SHILLINGTON | Building fires | Significant |
Per-capita rates let us compare apples to apples.
12 cities mapped to FIPS 42011.
27 departments report from this county.
Top 10 fire perimeters by acres burned (state-scoped fallback while we build out per-county polygons).
| # | Name | Year | Agency | Acres |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Hopewell | 2012 | NPS | 812 |
| 2 | Blue Mountain | 2024 | NPS | 577 |
| 3 | River Road | 2023 | USFS | 430 |
| 4 | SNYDER | 1999 | NPS | 374 |
| 5 | Town Line Church | 1984 | USFS | 207 |
| 6 | Little Round Top Munshower | 2021 | NPS | 79 |
| 7 | Sugar Bay | 2023 | USFS | 62 |
| 8 | Spring | 2003 | USFS | 53 |
| 9 | Salmon Creek | 2010 | USFS | 48 |
| 10 | BELLTOWN | 2011 | USFS | 42 |
County-level NFIRS aggregates for 2025, plus 5-year totals across 2021–2025. NFIRS is voluntary — about 23,000 of roughly 30,000 US fire departments report — so totals are a strong indicator, not a complete census. Wildfire risk score (0–100) and Expected Annual Loss come from FEMA's National Risk Index. Drought class is the most recent USDM classification (D0 = abnormally dry through D4 = exceptional drought). Historical fire perimeters are sourced from the NIFC InterAgency Fire Perimeter History.