In 2025, fire departments serving Berlin responded to 134 fire and hazmat incidents — from cooking fires to gas leaks to a single $250K building blaze. Here's the full picture.
Building fires lead by count. Building fires lead by dollars. Together the top five categories make up about 68% of all calls.
Jan peaks. Sep dips. Watch for the typical fall climb starting in October.
649 incidents 2021–2025. Peak year was 2024. $250K cumulative property loss.
| Year | Incidents | YoY | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2021 | 108 | — | |
| 2022 | 132 | +22.2% | |
| 2023 | 132 | +0.0% | |
| 2024 | 143 | +8.3% | |
| 2025 | 134 | -6.3% |
For the 51 building fires Berlin departments responded to in 2025, here's how they were classified once investigators were finished.
NFIRS Area of Origin (AREA_ORIG) for the 109 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 | 51 | 46.8% | |
| 2 | Engine area, running gear, wheel area | 8 | 7.3% | |
| 3 | Other | 7 | 6.4% | |
| 4 | Bedroom - < 5 persons; included are jail or prison | 4 | 3.7% | |
| 5 | Cooking area, kitchen | 4 | 3.7% | |
| 6 | Open area - outside; included are farmland, field | 4 | 3.7% | |
| 7 | Vehicle area, other | 3 | 2.8% | |
| 8 | Function area, other | 2 | 1.8% | |
| 9 | Laundry area, wash house (laundry) | 2 | 1.8% | |
| 10 | Vehicle storage area; garage, carport | 2 | 1.8% | |
| 11 | All other areas | 22 | 20.2% |
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 Berlin mix.
| # | Heat source | Count | Share | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Undetermined | 88 | 80.7% | |
| 2 | Heat from powered equipment, other | 7 | 6.4% | |
| 3 | Hot or smoldering object, other | 6 | 5.5% | |
| 4 | Arcing | 2 | 1.8% | |
| 5 | Hot ember or ash | 2 | 1.8% | |
| 6 | Spark, ember or flame from operating equipment | 1 | 0.9% | |
| 7 | Heat from other open flame or smoking materials | 1 | 0.9% | |
| 8 | Flame/torch used for lighting | 1 | 0.9% | |
| 9 | Flying brand, ember, spark | 1 | 0.9% |
Largest single-incident property losses reported by Berlin departments in 2025. These 1 fires alone account for 100% of the city's annual total.
| # | Property loss | Type | Severity | Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | $250,000 | Building fires | Major | Investigated |
Per-capita rates let us compare apples to apples. Berlin sits above the national average for incidents per resident.
Top 25 wildfires (1992+) in the FPA-FOD ignitions database, scaled by acres. 34,504 acres burned in this 50-mile radius. Each dot is a fire — bigger dots burned more land.
| Year | Cause | Acres | Distance | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2007 | Debris and open burning | 3,208 | 41.3 mi | |
| 2011 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 2,910 | 40.0 mi | |
| 2009 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 2,124 | 42.1 mi | |
| 2010 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 2,066 | 41.8 mi | |
| 2005 | Arson/incendiarism | 1,800 | 40.3 mi | |
| 2001 | Arson/incendiarism | 1,756 | 39.9 mi | |
| 2011 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 1,700 | 39.0 mi | |
| 2006 | Arson/incendiarism | 1,596 | 44.9 mi | |
| 2001 | Arson/incendiarism | 1,580 | 38.1 mi | |
| 2011 | Arson/incendiarism | 1,367 | 44.8 mi | |
| 2014 | Arson/incendiarism | 1,348 | 38.4 mi | |
| 2002 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 1,250 | 40.3 mi |
Top 9 ZIP codes by NFIRS incident count across 2021–2025. Each ZIP has its own fire profile — dive in for neighborhood-level context.
Six Maryland cities with population within ±25% of Berlin. 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.