Harrisburg Bureau Of Fire Community Risk Profile | Risk & Response by Arborlook Insights

Service Area Overview

Your department boundary, station locations, and overall NRI risk scores by census tract. Use the sections below to explore specific hazards, fire risk indicators, and EMS demand drivers across your service area.

Service area, population, and census tract assignments are based on department boundaries from NERIS Public. Boundary accuracy varies by jurisdiction.

Natural Hazard Risk

What this means for planning: With a risk score of 74.5 (Relatively High nationally), flooding is your leading natural hazard. Prioritize swift water rescue training, high-water vehicle rescue protocols, and coordination with emergency management on flood-prone area mapping and evacuation routes.

Top 5 Hazards in Your Service Area

Sorted by life-safety impact. Life-safety loss uses FEMA’s Value of Statistical Life ($13.7M per fatality or 10 injuries). NRI methodology

Hazard	Risk Score	Rating	Life-Safety Loss $/yr	Total Loss $/yr
River Flood TOP LIFE-SAFETY HAZARD	74.5	Relatively High	$1.1M/yr	$18.5M/yr
Heat Wave	54.2	Relatively Moderate	$453K/yr	$453K/yr
Strong Wind	73.3	Relatively High	$362K/yr	$422K/yr
Earthquake	66.7	Relatively High	$359K/yr	$960K/yr
Cold Wave	39.2	Relatively Low	$320K/yr	$320K/yr

How to read 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 4 FEMA disaster declarations in the last 10 years, and 14 declarations in the last 25 years.

Date	Type	Title
2021-09-10	Hurricane	REMNANTS OF HURRICANE IDA
2020-03-30	Biological	COVID-19 PANDEMIC
2020-03-13	Biological	COVID-19
2016-03-23	Snowstorm	SEVERE WINTER STORM AND SNOWSTORM
2013-01-10	Hurricane	HURRICANE SANDY

Demographics & Vulnerability

Why This Matters

Your community's demographics shape everything: from where you need smoke alarm programs to how many of your calls are EMS. The data below identifies who generates the most emergency demand, who faces the greatest barriers during emergencies, and who benefits most from targeted CRR outreach.

Age Distribution

Age drives EMS call volume (highest utilization: 65+ and especially 75+, with elevated rates also among children under 5), shapes fire safety education priorities, and determines evacuation assistance needs. The dark marker on each bar shows the national average.

Under 5

8.0% (3,737)

Ages 5-17

19.4% (9,068)

Ages 18-64

59.8% (28,019)

Ages 65-74

8.1% (3,793)

Ages 75-84

3.8% (1,780)

Ages 85+

1.0% (446)

Your Community

National Average

Social Vulnerability Indicators

These indicators identify populations that need additional support during emergencies, face barriers to self-evacuation or medical access, and benefit most from proactive CRR programming.

Vulnerability Factor	Your Community	Peer Average	National Average	vs. Peers
Disability Rate Higher EMS utilization, evacuation assistance needs, accessible communication requirements	18.1%	11.9%	13.4%	1.5x higher
Poverty Rate Economic barrier to safety resources	30.4%	11.2%	12.5%	2.7x higher
Uninsured Rate May delay medical care, leading to emergencies	9.5%	6.3%	8.3%	1.5x higher
Limited English Households Language barrier to emergency communication	7.7%	5.1%	4.3%	1.5x higher
No Vehicle Access Evacuation risk; higher EMS transport dependence	24.5%	9.9%	8.7%	2.5x higher
No Internet Access Disconnected from digital emergency alerts	9.6%	5.3%	6.7%	1.8x higher

Economic Context

Median Household Income

$48,021

Peers: $109,461 · National: $89,476

Per Capita Income

$27,494

Peers: $52,364 · National: $44,519

Median Home Value

$129,723

Peers: $438,217 · National: $402,761

Fire Risk Factors

What this means for planning: 63.6% of housing units are renter-occupied. Rental properties often experience higher fire incidence due to transient occupancy and variable maintenance. Partner with landlords on smoke alarm compliance, tenant fire safety education, and rental property inspections.

How to read 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
Pre-1980 Housing Pre-1980 construction standards	83.9%	66.9%	36.3%	slightly higher
Wood Heating Wood stoves and fireplaces as primary heat	0.0%	0.2%	1.4%	Infx lower
Vacancy Rate Vacant properties at higher fire risk	8.5%	6.2%	10.3%	slightly higher
Mobile Homes Structural fire spread risk	1.0%	0.3%	5.8%	3.1x higher
Renter-Occupied Higher turnover, variable maintenance	63.6%	38.0%	34.7%	1.7x higher

EMS Risk Factors

EMS typically accounts for 60-80% 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: 18.1% of residents have a disability, slightly higher the national average. Residents with disabilities have higher EMS utilization and may require specialized evacuation assistance, accessible communication during emergencies, and coordination with social services. Consider functional needs assessments in pre-incident planning and partnerships with disability advocacy organizations.