Home› Counties› PA› Jefferson County
2025 County Report

Fires in Jefferson County, PA

In 2025, fire departments serving Jefferson County responded to 296 fire and hazmat incidents — including a single $3K property loss.

33,706 residents FIPS 42065 95 cities · 12 fire depts
Total incidents
296
3,094 across 5 years
Building fires
76
35 wildland
Property loss
$3K
$3K structure · $20 contents
Casualties
0 / 0
0 civ deaths · 0 civ inj · 0 FF inj
01 The mix

What kinds of fires happen here?

Building fires lead by count. Top five categories make up about 77% of all calls.

296
Total Incidents
Building fires 76 25.7%
Hazardous condition, other 59 19.9%
Vehicle accident, general cleanup 39 13.2%
Brush, or brush and grass mixture fire 29 9.8%
Power line down 24 8.1%
All other categories 69 23.3%
02 Seasonality

When do fires happen in Jefferson County?

Mar peaks. Oct dips.

Jan 35
Feb 20
Mar 80
Apr 49
May 42
Jun 20
Jul 23
Aug 6
Sep 21
Oct 0
Nov 0
Dec 0
03 Five-year trend

Year over year in Jefferson County

3,094 incidents from 2021 through 2025.

YearIncidents 
2021 743
2022 699
2023 747
2024 609
2025 296
04 Cause of ignition

What sparks building fires?

For the 76 building fires departments responded to in 2025, here's how investigators classified them.

Unintentional
53%
28
Cause undetermined
6%
3
Intentional / arson
11%
6
Equipment / heat source failure
11%
6
Under investigation
9%
5
Act of nature (lightning)
10%
5
05 The biggest fires

1 fires · $3K in losses

Largest single-incident property losses in Jefferson County during 2025. These 1 fires alone account for 100% of the county's total.

#Property lossCityTypeSeverity
1 $3,000 WashingtonTownship Off-road vehicle or heavy equipment fire Significant
06 How Jefferson County compares

Jefferson County vs PA vs the nation

Per-capita rates let us compare apples to apples.

8.78
Incidents per 1,000 residents
Jefferson County
8.78
PA avg
6.48
US avg
7.15
2.25
Building fires per 1,000 residents
Jefferson County
2.25
PA avg
1.39
US avg
0.82
0
Civilian fire deaths per million
Jefferson County
0
PA avg
6.2
US avg
5.8
07 Cities in this county

Largest cities in Jefferson County

12 cities mapped to FIPS 42065.

08 First responders

Busiest fire departments in Jefferson County

12 departments report from this county.

Sykesville Volunteer Fire Depa
Sykesville
FDID 33008 74 incidents 105 vol
Lindsey Fire Company
Punxsutawney
FDID 33040 64 incidents 42 vol
Elk Run Vol Fire Co
Punxsutawney
FDID 33030 27 incidents 37 vol
Friendship Hose Company 1
Falls Creek
FDID 33004 26 incidents 75 vol
Reynoldsville Volunteer Fire C
Reynoldsville
FDID 33006 20 incidents
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.