Butler County fire departments report 2025 call numbers
From structure fires to medical calls, Butler County fire departments remained busy throughout 2025 as emergencies piled up.
The Butler Bureau of Fire — the only full-time, paid department in the county — responded to 2,286 calls last year.
“That’s pretty much in line with what we’ve had for the last couple of years,” said Butler Bureau of Fire Chief Chris Switala, who added that the department’s response time averaged 4 minutes, 52 seconds.
While fire calls were steady, Switala said mutual aid requests spiked. His department responded to 278 requests for mutual aid compared to 221 in 2024.
“Those numbers have gone up primarily because we’re working with more volunteer companies that surround the city,” he said.
The increased activity reflects broader trends facing fire departments across the county, including rising call volumes, expanded boundaries and ongoing challenges with staffing.
Department leaders say the growing demand is stretching resources and underscoring the importance of regional cooperation, training and sustainable support to ensure crews can continue responding quickly and effectively.
Adams Area Fire District responded to 871 calls last year, with an average response time of 6 minutes, 20 seconds.
The department averages slightly more than six officers per call, meaning there’s no lack of support from its growing base of volunteers.
“We are very privileged and lucky to have the crew that we do to get out the door as fast as we do and get on scene as fast as we have,” said Jason Safreed, Adams Area’s president. “We’re delivering that out of a volunteer staff.”
Meanwhile, Cranberry Township Volunteer Fire Company responded to 1,179 incidents last year, with the monthly total peaking at 124 incidents in April, according to its website. The figure was slightly down from the 1,183 calls the department recorded in 2024.
Harmony Fire District, which covers Zelienople and Harmony boroughs along with the townships of Jackson and Lancaster, reported 731 calls last year, with monthly figures topping out at 70 calls in February.
Slippery Rock Volunteer Fire Company Chief Ryan Hanchosky said his department responded to 664 fire calls in 2025. The EMS division of the department, meanwhile, recorded 1,504 calls.
“We are getting busier and busier each year,” he said. “This year was actually right in line with last year’s call numbers fire-wise. EMS wise, obviously, that’s getting a lot busier because we all know the situation with that.”
Unlike others around the county, the department has the unique challenge of providing coverage for Slippery Rock University.
“We were averaging 50 to 60 calls per month,” Hanchosky said. “Usually, it tended to be a little bit busier when college was in for us. Our June and July numbers, though, were still around the same range.”
