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2025 County Report

Fires in Erie County, PA

In 2025, fire departments serving Erie County responded to 695 fire and hazmat incidents — including a single $150K property loss.

240,223 residents FIPS 42049 81 cities · 16 fire depts
Total incidents
695
7,679 across 5 years
Building fires
217
62 wildland
Property loss
$658K
$423K structure · $235K contents
Casualties
4 / 7
4 civ deaths · 3 civ inj · 4 FF inj
01 The mix

What kinds of fires happen here?

Building fires lead by count. Top five categories make up about 63% of all calls.

695
Total Incidents
Building fires 217 31.2%
Prescribed fire 81 11.7%
Gas leak (natural gas or LPG) 70 10.1%
Carbon monoxide incident 40 5.8%
Power line down 31 4.5%
All other categories 256 36.8%
02 Seasonality

When do fires happen in Erie County?

Mar peaks. Dec dips.

Jan 51
Feb 30
Mar 97
Apr 86
May 78
Jun 62
Jul 82
Aug 25
Sep 79
Oct 62
Nov 36
Dec 7
03 Five-year trend

Year over year in Erie County

7,679 incidents from 2021 through 2025.

YearIncidents 
2021 1,889
2022 2,012
2023 1,745
2024 1,338
2025 695
04 Cause of ignition

What sparks building fires?

For the 217 building fires departments responded to in 2025, here's how investigators classified them.

Unintentional
45%
77
Cause undetermined
13%
22
Intentional / arson
8%
14
Equipment / heat source failure
8%
14
Under investigation
22%
38
Act of nature (lightning)
4%
5
05 The biggest fires

7 fires · $423K in losses

Largest single-incident property losses in Erie County during 2025. These 7 fires alone account for 100% of the county's total.

#Property lossCityTypeSeverity
1 $150,000 Fairview Twp Building fires Significant
2 $150,000 Cranesville Building fires Significant
3 $95,000 CONNEAUT TOWNSHIP Building fires Significant
4 $16,000 Fairview Twp Passenger vehicle fire Significant
5 $5,000 Edinboro Water vehicle fire Significant
6 $5,000 Fairview Twp Arcing, shorted electrical equipment Significant
7 $2,000 Fairview Twp Building fires Significant
06 How Erie County compares

Erie County vs PA vs the nation

Per-capita rates let us compare apples to apples.

2.89
Incidents per 1,000 residents
Erie County
2.89
PA avg
6.48
US avg
7.15
0.9
Building fires per 1,000 residents
Erie County
0.9
PA avg
1.39
US avg
0.82
16.7
Civilian fire deaths per million
Erie County
16.7
PA avg
6.2
US avg
5.8
07 Cities in this county

Largest cities in Erie County

12 cities mapped to FIPS 42049.

08 First responders

Busiest fire departments in Erie County

16 departments report from this county.

AC Office
Erie
FDID 25320 275 incidents
Belle Valley Fire Department
Erie
FDID 25360 37 incidents 52 vol
STANCLIFF HOSE CO
WATERFORD
FDID 25160 27 incidents 35 vol
PERRY HIWAY HOSE COMPANY
ERIE
FDID 25420 26 incidents 32 vol
union city volunteer fire co
UNION CITY
FDID 25140 22 incidents 92 vol
09 Historical wildfires

Largest fires recorded in PA

Top 10 fire perimeters by acres burned (state-scoped fallback while we build out per-county polygons).

#NameYearAgencyAcres
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

About this data

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.