In 2025, fire departments serving Abingdon responded to 192 fire and hazmat incidents . Here's the full picture.
Gas leak (natural gas or LPG) lead by count. Building fires lead by dollars. Together the top five categories make up about 63% of all calls.
Jan peaks. Aug dips. Watch for the typical fall climb starting in October.
799 incidents 2021–2025. Peak year was 2025.
| Year | Incidents | YoY | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2021 | 133 | — | |
| 2022 | 153 | +15.0% | |
| 2023 | 132 | -13.7% | |
| 2024 | 189 | +43.2% | |
| 2025 | 192 | +1.6% |
For the 39 building fires Abingdon departments responded to in 2025, here's how they were classified once investigators were finished.
NFIRS Area of Origin (AREA_ORIG) for the 103 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 | Undetermined | 43 | 41.7% | |
| 2 | Outside area, other | 9 | 8.7% | |
| 3 | Other | 8 | 7.8% | |
| 4 | Engine area, running gear, wheel area | 8 | 7.8% | |
| 5 | Wildland, woods | 7 | 6.8% | |
| 6 | Highway, parking lot, street: on or near | 6 | 5.8% | |
| 7 | Cooking area, kitchen | 5 | 4.9% | |
| 8 | Laundry area, wash house (laundry) | 2 | 1.9% | |
| 9 | Courtyard, patio, porch, terrace | 2 | 1.9% | |
| 10 | Function area, other | 1 | 1.0% | |
| 11 | All other areas | 12 | 11.7% |
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 Abingdon mix.
| # | Heat source | Count | Share | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Undetermined | 66 | 64.1% | |
| 2 | Hot or smoldering object, other | 10 | 9.7% | |
| 3 | Heat from powered equipment, other | 9 | 8.7% | |
| 4 | Hot ember or ash | 7 | 6.8% | |
| 5 | Cigarette | 3 | 2.9% | |
| 6 | Molten, hot material | 2 | 1.9% | |
| 7 | Cigarette lighter | 2 | 1.9% | |
| 8 | Radiated, conducted heat from operating equipment | 1 | 1.0% | |
| 9 | Arcing | 1 | 1.0% | |
| 10 | Heat, spark from friction | 1 | 1.0% | |
| 11 | All other sources | 1 | 1.0% |
Per-capita rates let us compare apples to apples. Abingdon sits above the national average for incidents per resident.
Top 25 wildfires (1992+) in the FPA-FOD ignitions database, scaled by acres. 6,053 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 | 49.2 mi | |
| 2001 | Arson/incendiarism | 522 | 14.4 mi | |
| 2011 | Recreation and ceremony | 500 | 38.6 mi | |
| 1999 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 500 | 48.9 mi | |
| 2006 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 470 | 49.3 mi | |
| 2003 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 408 | 34.0 mi | |
| 1992 | Arson/incendiarism | 250 | 41.8 mi | |
| 2011 | Natural | 150 | 43.8 mi | |
| 1992 | Arson/incendiarism | 120 | 48.2 mi | |
| 1992 | Debris and open burning | 101 | 42.4 mi | |
| 2001 | Arson/incendiarism | 100 | 34.0 mi | |
| 1995 | Arson/incendiarism | 100 | 44.0 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 | 21009 | 799 |
Six Maryland cities with population within ±25% of Abingdon. 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.