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2025 County Report

Fires in Potter County, PA

In 2025, fire departments serving Potter County responded to 73 fire and hazmat incidents — including a single $30K property loss.

12,305 residents FIPS 42105 73 cities · 6 fire depts
Total incidents
73
922 across 5 years
Building fires
12
11 wildland
Property loss
$62K
$60K structure · $2K contents
Casualties
0 / 2
0 civ deaths · 0 civ inj · 2 FF inj
01 The mix

What kinds of fires happen here?

Building fires lead by count. Top five categories make up about 56% of all calls.

73
Total Incidents
Building fires 12 16.4%
Gas leak (natural gas or LPG) 12 16.4%
Power line down 9 12.3%
Natural vegetation fire, other 4 5.5%
Forest, woods or wildland fire 4 5.5%
All other categories 32 43.8%
02 Seasonality

When do fires happen in Potter County?

Sep peaks. Dec dips.

Jan 2
Feb 10
Mar 14
Apr 4
May 3
Jun 2
Jul 4
Aug 9
Sep 16
Oct 2
Nov 7
Dec 0
03 Five-year trend

Year over year in Potter County

922 incidents from 2021 through 2025.

YearIncidents 
2021 221
2022 227
2023 222
2024 179
2025 73
04 Cause of ignition

What sparks building fires?

For the 12 building fires departments responded to in 2025, here's how investigators classified them.

Unintentional
57%
16
Cause undetermined
14%
4
Intentional / arson
4%
1
Equipment / heat source failure
7%
2
Under investigation
11%
3
Act of nature (lightning)
7%
2
05 The biggest fires

3 fires · $60K in losses

Largest single-incident property losses in Potter County during 2025. These 3 fires alone account for 100% of the county's total.

#Property lossCityTypeSeverity
1 $30,000 AlleganyTownship o Passenger vehicle fire Significant
2 $20,000 BrookfieldTownship Off-road vehicle or heavy equipment fire Significant
3 $10,000 WestfieldTownship Passenger vehicle fire Significant
06 How Potter County compares

Potter County vs PA vs the nation

Per-capita rates let us compare apples to apples.

5.93
Incidents per 1,000 residents
Potter County
5.93
PA avg
6.48
US avg
7.15
0.98
Building fires per 1,000 residents
Potter County
0.98
PA avg
1.39
US avg
0.82
0
Civilian fire deaths per million
Potter County
0
PA avg
6.2
US avg
5.8
07 Cities in this county

Largest cities in Potter County

12 cities mapped to FIPS 42105.

08 First responders

Busiest fire departments in Potter County

6 departments report from this county.

TriTown Vol Fire Company
Ulysses
FDID 53047 21 incidents
Shinglehouse Volunteer Fire De
Shinglehouse
FDID 53039 19 incidents
Genesee Township Vol Fire Depa
Genesee
FDID 53037 18 incidents 15 vol
Austin Volunteer Fire company
Austin
FDID 53044 14 incidents 20 vol
Roulette Chemical Engine Compa
Roulette
FDID 53046 11 incidents 47 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.