Community Risk Assessment
in partnership with Vision 20/20This page assembles the public-data foundation of a Community Risk Assessment for Bunola Volunteer Fire Company. The Vision 20/20 Community Risk Assessment Guide walks through the full process in six steps:
- Identify risks
- Prioritize risks
- Develop strategies and tactics to mitigate risks
- Prepare the CRR plan
- Implement the CRR plan
- Monitor, evaluate, and modify the CRR plan
Steps 1 and 2 start here: incident data, demographics, vulnerability factors, and natural hazard risk across your service area. The remaining steps are local work with your crews and community partners.
Service Area Overview
Your department boundary, station locations, and population density by census tract: where the people you protect live. Switch to block-group resolution for a finer view, and use the sections below to explore community vulnerability, fire and EMS risk drivers, and natural hazards across your service area.
How to use this map: Darker blue shows denser areas (more residents per square mile). Density shapes where call volume concentrates and how much distance separates residents from your stations.
Service area, population, and census tract assignments are based on department boundaries from NERIS Public. Boundary accuracy varies by jurisdiction. View this department’s boundary record or download the polygon as GeoJSON straight from the source (no login).
Reported Incident Activity
Source: NERIS Public Incident Basics; as of the September 2026 refresh
No public incident reports yet
The NERIS public feed has no incident reports from Bunola Volunteer Fire Company for the trailing 12 complete months. Fire departments across the country are mid-transition from NFIRS to NERIS, and each one’s reports reach the public feed on its own schedule. Some departments are enrolled and reporting while their data is still working through the pipeline.
When reports arrive, this section fills in at the next refresh: total calls, call types, month-by-month volume, and smoke alarm findings. If this is your department, NERIS enrollment is free through FSRI.
Demographics & Vulnerability
Source: U.S. Census Bureau, American Community Survey 5-year (2020-2024 vintage)
What the Demographics Tell You
Demographics drive both sides of your workload: where you need smoke alarm programs, and how many of your calls are EMS. The data below shows who generates the most emergency demand and who faces the greatest barriers when one happens.
Community Vulnerability
How to use this map: Overall Vulnerability is a CDC SVI-aligned composite (0 to 100; higher = more socially vulnerable, shown red), colored on a fixed national scale like the hazard map. Toggle to an individual factor (Poverty Rate, Disability Rate, etc.) and colors switch to a relative scale ranked within your own tracts, so the reddest tracts are always your highest-need ones even if your whole department scores low nationally. Switch to block-group resolution for finer detail.
Community Profile: the four CDC SVI themes
This profile is organized by the four themes of the CDC/ATSDR Social Vulnerability Index, the framework most community risk assessments use to describe which residents will need the most help in an emergency. [CDC SVI]
Several factors here reappear in the Fire Risk and EMS Risk sections below, in whichever set the evidence ties them to: fire deaths or EMS demand.
Theme 1: Socioeconomic Status
Income, employment, education, and health-insurance access.
Headline figures from the U.S. Census Bureau ACS; see the table below for the full Theme 1 factor list with sourcing and relevance notes.
| Community Factor | Your Community | Peer AverageiPeer Average. Average across up to 4 peer departments matched on size band, department type, density class, and Census region. Used in the “vs. Peers” column throughout the page. See the methodology page for full criteria. | National Average | vs. Peers |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Unemployment Rate Share of civilian labor force out of work; associated with higher stress and worse self-reported health (HHS Healthy People 2030) [HHS] |
3.0% | 4.0% | 5.2% | 1.3x lower |
| No High-School Diploma Adults 25+ without a high-school credential; CDC plain-language guidance recommends short sentences and one main idea each to broaden CRR accessibility [CDC] |
4.7% | 8.5% | 10.4% | 1.8x lower |
| Uninsured Rate Residents without health insurance; a barrier to preventive and follow-up care, and a CDC SVI Theme 1 variable [CDC SVI] |
4.6% | 4.6% | 8.4% | ≈ average |
Theme 2: Household Characteristics
Age, disability, family structure, and language: who's most likely to need help in an emergency.
Age drives EMS call volume, with the highest utilization among adults 65 and older and elevated rates among children under 5. It also sets fire-safety education priorities and evacuation-assistance needs. The dark marker on each bar shows the national average.
| Community Factor | Your Community | Peer Average | National Average | vs. Peers |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Disability Rate Civilians living with a disability; a CDC SVI Theme 2 variable, and residents who may need evacuation assistance [CDC SVI] |
27.8% | 19.5% | 13.3% | 1.4x higher |
| Single-Parent Households Households with children headed by one adult; family structure associated with vulnerability in emergencies, largely via household resources [Census] |
4.5% | 4.4% | 6.1% | ≈ average |
| Limited-English Households Households where no adult speaks English “very well”; informs CRR materials and outreach in other languages [Census] |
0.7% | 0.7% | 4.3% | ≈ average |
Theme 3: Racial & Ethnic Minority Status
Community racial and ethnic composition.
| Community Factor | Your Community | Peer Average | National Average | vs. Peers |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Minority Population Share of residents identifying as a race or ethnicity other than non-Hispanic White [Census] |
11.4% | 10.0% | 42.7% | 1.1x higher |
Race and ethnicity are shown here because they're part of the CDC SVI and standard in community descriptions. They are deliberately excluded from the Overall Vulnerability composite above, which is built only from need-based factors (age, poverty, disability, housing, and transportation) so it doesn't use a protected characteristic as a risk proxy.
Theme 4: Housing Type & Transportation
Building type, crowding, vehicle access, and congregate living arrangements.
| Community Factor | Your Community | Peer Average | National Average | vs. Peers |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Multi-Unit Structures Housing in structures with 10 or more units; a CDC SVI Theme 4 variable where shared egress and alarm systems shape evacuation [CDC SVI] |
0.0% | 2.7% | 14.8% | None reported |
| Mobile Homes Share of housing units that are mobile homes; a CDC SVI Theme 4 variable [CDC SVI] |
7.6% | 7.6% | 5.5% | ≈ average |
| Crowded Housing Occupied units with more than one occupant per room; a CDC SVI Theme 4 variable [CDC SVI] |
0.0% | 0.7% | 3.5% | None reported |
| No Vehicle Access Households with no vehicle available; a CDC SVI Theme 4 variable that limits self-evacuation [CDC SVI] |
3.9% | 5.1% | 8.4% | 1.3x lower |
| Group Quarters Residents in nursing homes, assisted living, dorms, or corrections; a CDC SVI Theme 4 variable [CDC SVI] |
0.2% | 2.3% | 2.4% | 9.8x lower |
- 0.2% of residents live in group quarters (nursing homes, assisted living, dorms, corrections), vs 2.4% nationally
- 1.2% are under 5 and 9.6% are school-age (5 to 17), where childcare and schools concentrate
- 12.9% are 75 or older, where assisted-living and nursing demand concentrates
Based on 5-year American Community Survey estimates of resident populations. A named target-hazard list (schools, hospitals, care facilities) takes local data beyond public census sources.
Fire Risk Factors
The Reported Incident Activity section above adds the call counts the department has published through NERIS. The finer questions come from your own incident records: which tracts the calls come from, how fast crews arrive, and what each run takes. Response Analytics measures those from your NERIS data.
What this means for planning: 67.5% of housing predates 1960, 2.6x the national average. Older housing stock predates modern electrical and fire codes; coordinate with code enforcement on inspections and prioritize smoke alarm installation in pre-1960 neighborhoods.
How to use this map: Colors show relative risk within your jurisdiction (red = highest-need tracts, green = lowest-need). Check the table below for overall levels vs. peers and national averages.
| Risk Factor | Your Community | Peer Average | National Average | vs. Peers |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Population 75+ Adults 75 and older carry the highest fire-death rate of any age group and are least able to self-evacuate [USFA] |
12.9% | 10.2% | 7.0% | 1.3x higher |
| Population Under 5 Children under 5 have the highest fire-death rate among children and are usually too young to escape a fire without help [USFA] |
1.2% | 3.9% | 5.6% | 3.2x lower |
| Poverty Rate Lower-income and higher-deprivation tracts have significantly higher residential fire rates, tied to older housing, overcrowding, and fewer working smoke alarms [Peer-reviewed] |
8.7% | 11.1% | 12.5% | 1.3x lower |
| Disability Rate Physical disability is the second-leading human factor in U.S. residential fire fatalities; mobility-limited residents need targeted evacuation planning [USFA] |
27.8% | 19.5% | 13.3% | 1.4x higher |
| Pre-1980 Housing Older housing predates modern electrical and fire codes and is less likely to have hardwired smoke alarms [Census] |
85.7% | 74.4% | 49.8% | 1.2x higher |
| Vacancy Rate Intentional actions are the leading cause of vacant residential building fires (~34%); 53% spread to involve the entire structure [USFA] |
5.0% | 9.4% | 10.1% | 1.9x lower |
| Mobile Homes CDC/ATSDR SVI Theme 4 (Housing Type and Transportation) vulnerability variable; smaller footprint shortens egress time and limits compartmentation [CDC SVI] |
7.6% | 7.6% | 5.5% | ≈ average |
EMS Risk Factors
EMS calls make up the majority of fire department call volume nationally. The demographics below are the strongest predictors of where that demand comes from in your service area.
What this means for planning: 27.8% of residents have a disability, 2.1x the national average. Residents with disabilities have higher EMS utilization and may require specialized evacuation assistance and accessible communication during emergencies; coordinate with social services. Consider functional needs assessments in pre-incident planning and partnerships with disability advocacy organizations.
How to use this map: Colors show relative risk within your jurisdiction (red = highest-need tracts, green = lowest-need). Check the table below for overall levels vs. peers and national averages.
| Risk Factor | Your Community | Peer Average | National Average | vs. Peers |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Population 75+ Older adults are consistently the heaviest per-capita users of ambulance transport, driven by falls, cardiac events, and chronic-disease complications. |
12.9% | 10.2% | 7.0% | 1.3x higher |
| Disability Rate Residents with mobility, sensory, or cognitive disabilities are more likely to need EMS transport and often require additional on-scene assistance time. |
27.8% | 19.5% | 13.3% | 1.4x higher |
| No Vehicle Access Households without a vehicle face documented transportation barriers to medical care, including missed appointments and delayed visits [Peer-reviewed] |
3.9% | 5.1% | 8.4% | 1.3x lower |
| Uninsured Rate Uninsured adults are about three times more likely than continuously insured adults to have an unmet medical need due to cost (CDC NHIS) [CDC] |
4.6% | 4.6% | 8.4% | ≈ average |
| Poverty Rate Poverty is correlated with poorer health outcomes and reduced healthcare access; a recognized social determinant of health [HHS] |
8.7% | 11.1% | 12.5% | 1.3x lower |
| Below 150% Poverty Share below 150% of the federal poverty level; CDC PLACES uses this exact threshold to model chronic-disease prevalence [CDC] |
13.4% | 20.2% | 20.1% | 1.5x lower |
Natural Hazard Risk
What this means for planning: With a risk score of 66.8 (Relatively High nationally), cold wave is your leading natural hazard. Focus on cold-exposure emergency response and warming center partnerships. Run proactive wellness checks for vulnerable populations during extreme cold.
Top Hazards in Your Service Area
Algorithmic top 5 by life-safety impact, plus regionally critical hazards for PA (shown with their NRI scores as-is, no adjustment). Life-safety loss uses FEMA’s Value of Statistical Life ($13.7M per fatality or 10 injuries); total loss adds FEMA’s building, population, and agriculture loss estimates. NRI methodology · Source: FEMA NRI v1.20 (Mar 2023)
| Hazard | Risk Score | Rating | Life-Safety Loss $/yr |
Total Loss $/yr |
Learn more |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Cold Wave TOP LIFE-SAFETY HAZARD | 66.8 | Relatively High | $78K/yr | $79K/yr | NWS cold safety |
| River Flood | 86.9 | Very High | $59K/yr | $1.1M/yr | FEMA flood maps |
| Heat Wave | 23.7 | Relatively Low | $13K/yr | $13K/yr | NWS heat safety |
| Tornado | 33.7 | Relatively Low | $6K/yr | $19K/yr | NOAA SPC |
| Ice Storm | 58.2 | Relatively Moderate | $5K/yr | $5K/yr | NWS winter safety |
| Winter Weather | 42.3 | Relatively Moderate | $642/yr | $1K/yr | NWS winter safety |
How to use this map: Colors show absolute national risk levels (red = Very High nationally, green = Very Low nationally). These are objective hazard comparisons across all U.S. communities.
Historical Disaster Declarations
Your county has experienced 2 FEMA disaster declarations in the last 10 years, and 8 declarations in the last 25 years.
5 most recent declarations shown, sourced from OpenFEMA. If your most recent listed declaration is older than expected, OpenFEMA lists no newer county-level declarations for your county.
| Date | Type | Title |
|---|---|---|
| 2020-03-30 | Biological | COVID-19 PANDEMIC |
| 2020-03-13 | Biological | COVID-19 |
| 2013-10-01 | Severe Storm | SEVERE STORMS, TORNADOES, AND FLOODING |
| 2012-10-29 | Hurricane | HURRICANE SANDY |
| 2010-04-16 | Snowstorm | SEVERE WINTER STORMS AND SNOWSTORMS |
CRR Outreach Profile
These factors shape your Community Risk Reduction (CRR) outreach approach (different prevention messaging and communication channels, and a different inspection cadence) without necessarily indicating elevated fire or EMS risk.
How to use this map: The table below gives one department-wide rate per factor; the map shows which tracts drive it, so outreach (mailers, inspections, station open houses) can target where it will do the most good.
| Outreach Factor | Your Community | Peer Average | National Average | vs. Peers |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Wood Heating Wood and other solid-fuel heating; outreach focus: annual chimney inspection and cleaning, hearth screens, three-foot clearance from anything that can burn [USFA] |
0.4% | 2.5% | 1.3% | 6.7x lower |
| Kerosene / Fuel Oil Heat Liquid-fueled and portable space heaters; outreach focus: three-foot clearance, turn off when leaving the room or going to bed, CO and ventilation awareness [USFA] |
16.2% | 14.3% | 3.8% | 1.1x higher |
| Bottled / Tank LP Heat Bottled, tank, or LP gas heating; outreach focus: tank leak checks, regulator and connector inspection, CO alarm placement [Census] |
0.0% | 4.1% | 4.8% | None reported |
| Renter-Occupied Share occupied by renters; outreach differs from owner messaging: landlord coordination on smoke alarms, tenant-focused checklists, multilingual notices [USFA] |
15.2% | 21.6% | 35.1% | 1.4x lower |
| Overcrowding More than one occupant per room (Census/HUD threshold); shapes outreach where multiple residents share sleeping space and egress paths [HUD] |
0.0% | 0.7% | 3.5% | None reported |
| No Internet Access Households without home internet may miss web-based emergency alerts, telehealth, and outreach; favor radio, mailers, and door-to-door channels [Census] |
16.9% | 11.3% | 6.5% | 1.5x higher |
Peer Comparison
Departments similar to yours in size, type, density class, and region. Peer benchmarks put your community risk profile in context and support “demonstrated need” narratives in grant applications.
| Department | State | PopulationiPopulation. Tract-based estimate, used here so every department in this table is measured the same way. The summary above uses the block-group-fitted “Est. Population” figure. | Risk ScoreiComposite Risk Score. FEMA NRI’s composite index combining all 18 hazards: Expected Annual Loss × Social Vulnerability ÷ Community Resilience, population-weighted across your tracts. Individual hazards may score higher than the composite; the composite reflects total expected impact across all hazards. This is the same score behind the “NRI Risk Rating” band shown at the top of the page. FEMA methodology. | 65+ % | Multi-Unit % | Stations |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Bunola Volunteer Fire Company (You) | PA | 3,009 | 56.5 | 27.2% | 0.0% | 1 |
| Taylor Township Volunteer Fire Department | PA | 3,804 | 54.5 | 27.1% | 2.2% | 1 |
| Roscoe Volunteer Fire Company | PA | 3,651 | 63.3 | 24.3% | 0.8% | 1 |
| Celoron Hose Company Station 1 | NY | 3,460 | 47.6 | 30.4% | 7.6% | 1 |
| Denbo-Vesta Six Volunteer Fire Department | PA | 4,335 | 49.1 | 21.4% | 0.0% | 1 |
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New Census or FEMA data for this department, plus occasional Arborlook news (product launches, pilot invitations, deadlines like CFAI 11th Edition): a few emails a year, with a one-click unsubscribe in every one. We store your email together with this department so update notices go to the people who asked for them.
Connect Your Own Incident Data
This page is built from public data. It describes the community you protect: who lives there, what hazards they face, and how many calls the department has reported through NERIS. Your own incident records hold the operational detail: where calls cluster, how long they tie up crews, and how response holds up in your highest-risk neighborhoods. Connect your NERIS feed and Response Analytics tracks all of it, including NFPA benchmarks and the results of your CRR work.
Your trial opens with a NERIS data quality assessment: how complete your incident data is, scored month by month. That part is yours to keep. If the trial ends and you decide not to subscribe, the data quality view stays free.
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This free community risk profile is part of the Discovery Data Hub, a partnership between Vision 20/20 and Arborlook Insights to keep risk data in the hands of the fire service.