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Risk & Response

Blair County, PA

Community risk profile | NRI Score: 35.9 Relatively Low

121,277
Population
25
Departments
32
Stations
38
Census Tracts

Natural Hazard Loss Profile

Expected annual loss across the 18 natural hazards in FEMA's National Risk Index. Life safety is expressed in fatality-equivalents, combining expected deaths and injuries. Property loss counts building damage only, not agriculture.

Natural Hazard Life Safety
0.36
expected fatality-equivalents per year, natural hazards only
23rd highest of 67
Life Safety per 100k
0.30
natural hazard fatality-equivalents per 100,000 residents
42nd highest of 67
Natural Hazard Property Loss
$28.7M
expected building loss per year, natural hazards only
30th highest of 67
Property Loss per Resident
$236
natural hazard building loss per resident per year
42nd highest of 67

These figures cover natural hazards only. Structure fire, EMS, and motor vehicle incidents are not in the National Risk Index, so this is not an all-cause life safety measure. For Blair County, the largest single contributor is Inland Flooding, 27% of the life-safety total.

Blair County carries an expected under 1 natural hazard fatality-equivalents and $28.7M in building loss per year. Rank chips compare the 67 Pennsylvania counties. Nationally, Blair County ranks 1357th of 3,222 U.S. counties for life-safety loss, 3005th for life safety per 100k residents, 619th for property loss, and 2438th for property loss per resident. Computed from census tract data covering every resident, independent of fire department boundaries.

Add fire mortality, cause, and loss

Natural hazard exposure is only part of the risk. Fire deaths and injuries, cause of ignition, and dollar loss per incident come from NERIS incident reporting, which grows as departments serving Blair County enroll. Our Regional tier adds that data for the departments your jurisdiction sponsors, next to public risk and NERIS adoption for every department in Blair County.

Talk to us about Blair County See what a department sees

Loss Breakdown

85%
14%
Property (buildings): $28.7M (84.5%)
Life safety: $4.9M (14.5%)
Agriculture: $324K (1.0%)

Total expected annual loss: $33,917,575 per year. Life safety is shown here in dollars, at FEMA's $13.7M value of statistical life, so the three shares sum to the total.

Hazards Ranked Two Ways

The hazard that threatens people is often not the hazard that destroys buildings. Both columns cover the same 18 hazards over the same year.

By life-safety loss ($/yr)

Inland Flooding
$1.3M
Strong Wind
$801K
Cold Wave
$792K
Tornado
$603K
Lightning
$561K
Winter Weather
$417K

By property loss ($/yr)

Inland Flooding
$25.9M
Hurricane
$1.2M
Tornado
$915K
Earthquake
$358K
Hail
$182K
Strong Wind
$53K

Census Tract Risk Map

Shaded by quintile across the census tracts in Blair County. Gray tracts have no modeled loss or no resident population. Per-resident figures on this map use the National Risk Index 2020 tract population.

Fire Service Profile

88%
8%
Career: 4% (1)
Volunteer: 88% (22)
Unreported: 8% (2)
Residents per Station
3,790
census population per registered station
Stations per 100k
26.4
registered stations per 100,000 residents

Department composition covers the 25 departments registered in NERIS Public for Blair County, PA. Departments that have not registered are not counted. Station coverage divides census population by registered stations; department service areas overlap, so their populations are not summed.

Department Rankings

Fire and EMS departments serving Blair County. Click column headers to sort.

NRI Rating is from FEMA's National Risk Index, which measures community risk across 18 natural hazards using expected annual losses, social vulnerability, and community resilience. Life-Safety Loss uses FEMA's Value of Statistical Life ($13.7M per expected fatality) to estimate annual risk to human life.

Department boundaries and station counts are self-reported through NERIS Public and may not reflect current service areas. Population and Life-Safety Loss reflect each department's full jurisdiction. County-level risk metrics are computed from census tract data and are not affected by boundary accuracy. See full methodology.

Showing 25 departments
Department ▲ Est. Population ▲ Life-Safety Loss ▼ NRI Rating ▲ Stations ▲
Portage Fire Department 52,244 $2.1M Relatively Low 3
Sinking Valley Volunteer Fire Company 38,967 $1.3M Very Low 1
Altoona Fire Department 1 37,746 $1.3M Very Low 6
Port Matilda Fire Company 30,564 $1.2M Relatively Moderate 1
Blazing Arrow Hook And Ladder Company 24,125 $991.7K Relatively Low 1
Phoenix Steam Fire Engine Company 1, Volunteer Fire Department 18,574 $856.2K Relatively Moderate 1
Alexandria Volunteer Fire Company 11,346 $853.3K Relatively High 1
Friendship Fire Company 1, Inc. 18,623 $803.0K Relatively High 1
Martinsburg Volunteer Fire Company #1, Inc. 20,339 $800.1K Relatively High 1
Ashville Volunteer Fire Company 25,857 $798.8K Very Low 1
Imler Area Volunteer Fire Department 15,474 $754.3K Relatively Moderate 1
Gallitzin Fire Company, No. 1 19,278 $732.3K Relatively Low 1
Cresson Volunteer Fire Department 17,424 $674.0K Very Low 1
Bald Eagle Volunteer Fire Department 12,602 $668.1K Relatively Moderate 1
Neptune Volunteer Fire Company 12,602 $668.1K Relatively Moderate 1
Blue Knob Volunteer Fire Company, Inc. 12,599 $658.0K Relatively Moderate 1
Lilly Community Volunteer Fire Company 16,666 $541.0K Relatively Low 1
Freedom Township Volunteer Fire Company 9,935 $462.8K Relatively Moderate 1
Excelsior Volunteer Fire Department 1 8,103 $343.1K Relatively Low 0
Logan Township United Fire Department 8,927 $333.0K Very Low 2
Pinecroft Volunteer Fire Company (Antis Township No 1) 6,412 $274.1K Relatively Low 1
Tipton Volunteer Fire Department 6,412 $274.1K Relatively Low 1
Greenwood Volunteer Fire Department 6,794 $243.4K Very Low 1
Newburg Volunteer Fire Department 4,327 $166.4K Very Low 1
Lakemont Volunteer Fire Company 2,328 $94.1K Very Low 1
No departments match your search.

Risk Snapshot

12.0%
Poverty Rate
21.5%
Age 65+
15.9%
Disability Rate
5.8%
Uninsured
75.3%
Pre-1980 Housing
6.3%
Mobile Homes
9.6%
Vacancy Rate
2.8%
Wood Heat
$65,866
Median HH Income

FEMA Disaster Declarations

3
Last 10 Years
11
Last 25 Years
Flood
Most Frequent

Every department in your region, on one briefing

Our Regional tier gives state fire marshals and county fire authorities one briefing across every department in the jurisdiction: priority tracts ranked by risk and demand, NERIS adoption by county, and a quarterly report with a page per department. Response times appear for the departments you sponsor. Free 90-day pilot.

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