We’re not even two months into 2026, and the Keystone State is already leading the nation in fire-related deaths.
“Unfortunately, it seems Pennsylvania always seems to be tops in the nation for fire deaths,” Chief Brandon Schmidt of the Rainbow Volunteer Fire Department said.
Pennsylvania has 26 deaths from home fires so far this year, according to the United States Fire Administration. Texas is second so far this year with 24, followed by New York State with 22.
We’ve done reporting on six of the deaths in our viewing area.
It was just a few weeks back when a father and two young daughters died in Clymer, Indiana County.
Additionally, one person died from a fire in the City of Pittsburgh, one died in Braddock, and another died in Penn Township, Westmoreland County.
“You feel terrible for the family,” Chief Schmidt said.  “Their loved ones that are left behind – that have to carry the weight of that burden.”
In 2025, Pennsylvania had the most civilian home fire deaths out of any state, with 131. New York was second with 114, and Texas was third with 104.
California had 100 deaths in 2025. Ohio had 84, and West Virginia had 18.
Firefighters have talked about electrical issues being part of the problem with more fires popping up. Schmidt said homeowners can make sure proper electricians are doing all their wiring.
The chief said they’re seeing more and more fires sparked by lithium-ion batteries now too, because of the increasing number of devices in homes that are using them.
“It’s another thing that we have to combat and something we were never trained for – but now we are starting to get a lot of training on that,” Schmidt said.
The chief says you want to make sure any devices with lithium-ion batteries are stored properly.
“You just have to make sure that whatever you’re doing, you’re watching how it’s powered, where it’s at, and not to leave those devices unattended,” Schmidt says.
One of the things you should be doing to prevent fires is checking your smoke detectors, Schmidt added.
You should be testing them monthly, he said.