In 2025, fire departments serving Aberdeen responded to 274 fire and hazmat incidents . Here's the full picture.
Building fires lead by count. Building fires lead by dollars. Together the top five categories make up about 54% of all calls.
Mar peaks. Aug dips. Watch for the typical fall climb starting in October.
1,408 incidents 2021–2025. Peak year was 2023. $1.4M cumulative property loss.
| Year | Incidents | YoY | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2021 | 260 | — | |
| 2022 | 259 | -0.4% | |
| 2023 | 328 | +26.6% | |
| 2024 | 287 | -12.5% | |
| 2025 | 274 | -4.5% |
For the 51 building fires Aberdeen departments responded to in 2025, here's how they were classified once investigators were finished.
NFIRS Area of Origin (AREA_ORIG) for the 248 building fires investigators classified across 2021–2025. The room or location where ignition occurred — kitchens, bedrooms, exterior, vehicle areas — tells you where to focus prevention.
| # | Area of origin | Count | Share | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Engine area, running gear, wheel area | 43 | 17.3% | |
| 2 | Undetermined | 41 | 16.5% | |
| 3 | Outside area, other | 23 | 9.3% | |
| 4 | Wildland, woods | 16 | 6.5% | |
| 5 | Open area - outside; included are farmland, field | 14 | 5.6% | |
| 6 | Bedroom - < 5 persons; included are jail or prison | 10 | 4.0% | |
| 7 | Vehicle area, other | 9 | 3.6% | |
| 8 | Operator/passenger area of transportation equip. | 8 | 3.2% | |
| 9 | Other | 7 | 2.8% | |
| 10 | Exterior balcony, unenclosed porch | 7 | 2.8% | |
| 11 | All other areas | 70 | 28.2% |
NFIRS Heat Source (HEAT_SOURC) — the physical thing that started it. Spark or ember from operating equipment, an open flame, smoking materials, or hot embers from a fireplace are the leading culprits nationwide. Here's the Aberdeen mix.
| # | Heat source | Count | Share | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Undetermined | 143 | 57.7% | |
| 2 | Heat from powered equipment, other | 18 | 7.3% | |
| 3 | Hot or smoldering object, other | 16 | 6.5% | |
| 4 | Hot ember or ash | 13 | 5.2% | |
| 5 | Arcing | 10 | 4.0% | |
| 6 | Cigarette | 8 | 3.2% | |
| 7 | Heat source: other | 7 | 2.8% | |
| 8 | Radiated, conducted heat from operating equipment | 7 | 2.8% | |
| 9 | Heat from other open flame or smoking materials | 5 | 2.0% | |
| 10 | Flying brand, ember, spark | 4 | 1.6% | |
| 11 | All other sources | 17 | 6.9% |
Per-capita rates let us compare apples to apples. Aberdeen sits above the national average for incidents per resident.
Top 25 wildfires (1992+) in the FPA-FOD ignitions database, scaled by acres. 6,278 acres burned in this 50-mile radius. Each dot is a fire — bigger dots burned more land.
| Year | Cause | Acres | Distance | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1995 | Arson/incendiarism | 2,000 | 45.7 mi | |
| 2001 | Arson/incendiarism | 522 | 14.2 mi | |
| 2011 | Recreation and ceremony | 500 | 44.9 mi | |
| 1999 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 500 | 45.4 mi | |
| 2006 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 470 | 42.9 mi | |
| 2003 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 408 | 38.9 mi | |
| 1992 | Arson/incendiarism | 250 | 36.1 mi | |
| 2003 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 200 | 47.9 mi | |
| 2011 | Natural | 150 | 47.1 mi | |
| 1992 | Arson/incendiarism | 120 | 44.4 mi | |
| 2001 | Arson/incendiarism | 120 | 49.2 mi | |
| 1992 | Debris and open burning | 101 | 36.8 mi |
Top 1 ZIP codes by NFIRS incident count across 2021–2025. Each ZIP has its own fire profile — dive in for neighborhood-level context.
| # | ZIP | 5-yr incidents | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 21001 | 1,408 |
Six Maryland cities with population within ±25% of Aberdeen. Useful comparison targets — same state, similar size, different fire profile.
A 30-minute weekend can cut your home's exposure substantially. These four checklists are a good starting point.
Numbers reflect incidents reported by participating fire departments to the National Fire Incident Reporting System (NFIRS) Public Data Release for calendar year 2025. NFIRS is voluntary — about 23,000 of roughly 30,000 US fire departments report — so totals are a strong indicator, not a complete census. Per-capita comparisons use 2023 ACS population estimates. Wildland fire data complements NFIRS with NIFC and USFS perimeters. Active-fire counts come from a dated NIFC snapshot, not a live feed.