EMS vs. fire, by neighborhood
Citywide, PFD answers 0.2× EMS calls for every fire. Each neighborhood tells its own version of that story.
The Medical Load
The sheer volume of calls the Philadelphia Fire Department takes are medical. Looking at EMS volume across the nine broad neighborhoods, we can see where the raw weight of dispatches land. Marigold highlights areas with higher overall EMS dispatches.
The Fire Load
Conversely, fires and other category-1 dispatches represent the traditional core of the department. Here, Brick highlights total fire volume. While lower in raw numbers than medical calls, they have different geographic concentrations.
The Ratio
The EMS-to-fire ratio is a rough proxy for what the average PFD response in that area is. We center the map around the citywide average of 0.2×. Marigold areas lean heavier toward EMS than the city average, while Brick areas see fires driving a larger percentage of the volume.
The Medical Heavyweights
Across the nine neighborhood buckets, Center City sits highest on the ratio. With 1.1× more EMS than fire dispatches, this neighborhood represents a fundamentally different load profile for responders compared to the rest of the city.
Where Fire Remains Prominent
On the other end of the spectrum, River Wards sits lowest on the ratio (0.0×). This doesn't necessarily mean fewer fires in absolute terms, but rather that the proportion of fire calls compared to medical calls remains higher here than anywhere else in Philadelphia.
🚑 Total EMS Dispatches by Neighborhood
View underlying data
Neighborhood roll-up of EMS and fire dispatches, ranked by EMS-to-fire ratio.
| Neighborhood | EMS dispatches | Fire dispatches | EMS / fire |
|---|---|---|---|
| Center City | 1,306 | 1,169 | 1.1× |
| West Philly | 763 | 2,240 | 0.3× |
| Northwest Philly | 339 | 1,438 | 0.2× |
| Southwest Philly | 112 | 498 | 0.2× |
| North Philly | 643 | 3,758 | 0.2× |
| South Philly | 197 | 1,215 | 0.2× |
| Northeast Philly | 342 | 3,412 | 0.1× |
| River Wards | 205 | 4,125 | 0.0× |
| Citywide | 3,910 | 17,874 | 0.2× |
Data Sources
Primary dataset: Philadelphia Fire Department stat360_fire_incidents.