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Risk & Response

Erie County, PA

Community risk profile | NRI Score: 23.7 Relatively Low

269,052
Population
27
Departments
57
Stations
74
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
0.41
expected fatality-equivalents per year, natural hazards only
22nd highest of 67
Life Safety per 100k
0.15
natural hazard fatality-equivalents per 100,000 residents
59th highest of 67
Natural Hazard Property Loss
$41.6M
expected building loss per year, natural hazards only
19th highest of 67
Property Loss per Resident
$154
natural hazard building loss per resident per year
66th 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 Erie County, the largest single contributor is Lightning, 34% of the life-safety total.

Erie County carries an expected under 1 natural hazard fatality-equivalents and $41.6M in building loss per year. Rank chips compare the 67 Pennsylvania counties. Nationally, Erie County ranks 1237th of 3,222 U.S. counties for life-safety loss, 3198th for life safety per 100k residents, 450th for property loss, and 3082nd 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 Erie 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 Erie County.

Talk to us about Erie County See what a department sees

Loss Breakdown

87%
12%
Property (buildings): $41.6M (87.3%)
Life safety: $5.7M (11.9%)
Agriculture: $350K (0.7%)

Total expected annual loss: $47,569,893 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)

Lightning
$1.9M
Strong Wind
$1.3M
Tornado
$689K
Inland Flooding
$660K
Cold Wave
$412K
Heat Wave
$214K

By property loss ($/yr)

Inland Flooding
$37.5M
Tornado
$1.4M
Strong Wind
$1.1M
Hurricane
$537K
Winter Weather
$439K
Earthquake
$334K

Census Tract Risk Map

Shaded by quintile across the census tracts in Erie 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

85%
Career: 4% (1)
Combination: 7% (2)
Volunteer: 85% (23)
Unreported: 4% (1)
Residents per Station
4,720
census population per registered station
Stations per 100k
21.2
registered stations per 100,000 residents

Department composition covers the 27 departments registered in NERIS Public for Erie 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 Erie 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 27 departments
Department ▲ Est. Population ▲ Life-Safety Loss ▼ NRI Rating ▲ Stations ▲
Corry Fire Department (Stanford Hose Company) 58,440 $2.7M Relatively Moderate 2
Saegertown Volunteer Fire Department 61,350 $2.2M Relatively Moderate 1
Erie Fire Department 92,024 $1.8M Very Low 18
Belle Valley Fire Department, Inc. 76,384 $1.6M Relatively Low 2
Perry Hi-Way Hose Company 70,679 $1.5M Relatively Low 2
Greenfield Volunteer Fire Company 30,039 $1.1M Relatively Low 1
West Ridge Fire Department 24,113 $449.2K Relatively Low 2
Cranesville Volunteer Fire Department 18,605 $437.9K Relatively Low 2
Edinboro Volunteer Fire Department 10,742 $259.9K Relatively Low 1
Kearsarge Fire Department 12,336 $237.3K Relatively Moderate 1
West Lake Fire Department 8,166 $186.9K Very Low 2
Fairview Firemen's Relief Association 8,361 $174.6K Relatively Moderate 3
Union City Volunteer Fire Department 4,360 $151.6K Relatively Low 1
Albion Volunteer Fire Department 5,107 $130.6K Very Low 1
Fuller Hose Company #1 3,986 $130.4K Relatively Low 3
A.F. Dobler Hose & Ladder Co. 5,708 $124.8K Relatively Low 0
Wattsburg Hose Company 3,591 $117.3K Very Low 2
Mckean Hose Company 4,789 $104.5K Relatively Low 1
Fairfield Hose Company 4,677 $99.5K Very Low 1
Harborcreek Fire Department 3,946 $92.4K Relatively Low 1
Lake City Fire Company 4,079 $88.2K Relatively Low 2
Kuhl Hose Company, Inc. 4,431 $87.3K Very Low 3
Lawrence Park Township Volunteer Fire Department 3,754 $71.9K Very Low 1
Wesleyville Hose Company 3,123 $63.6K Very Low 1
Springfield Volunteer Fire Department 3,032 $62.1K Very Low 1
Franklin Township Volunteer Fire Department, Inc. 1,533 $37.1K Very Low 1
Platea Volunteer Fire Department 1,355 $30.5K Relatively Low 1
No departments match your search.

Risk Snapshot

15.0%
Poverty Rate
19.7%
Age 65+
16.2%
Disability Rate
4.2%
Uninsured
70.7%
Pre-1980 Housing
4.6%
Mobile Homes
7.9%
Vacancy Rate
1.6%
Wood Heat
$67,732
Median HH Income

FEMA Disaster Declarations

2
Last 10 Years
6
Last 25 Years
Hurricane
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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