In 2025, fire departments serving Bethany Beach responded to 89 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 84% of all calls.
Jul peaks. Jan dips. Watch for the typical fall climb starting in October.
444 incidents 2021–2025. Peak year was 2022. $6 cumulative property loss.
| Year | Incidents | YoY | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2021 | 74 | — | |
| 2022 | 109 | +47.3% | |
| 2023 | 84 | -22.9% | |
| 2024 | 88 | +4.8% | |
| 2025 | 89 | +1.1% |
For the 17 building fires Bethany Beach departments responded to in 2025, here's how they were classified once investigators were finished.
NFIRS Area of Origin (AREA_ORIG) for the 41 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 | 14 | 34.1% | |
| 2 | Outside area, other | 8 | 19.5% | |
| 3 | Function area, other | 4 | 9.8% | |
| 4 | Open area - outside; included are farmland, field | 4 | 9.8% | |
| 5 | Other | 2 | 4.9% | |
| 6 | Attic: vacant, crawl space above top story, cupola | 2 | 4.9% | |
| 7 | Cooking area, kitchen | 1 | 2.4% | |
| 8 | Storage area, other | 1 | 2.4% | |
| 9 | Vehicle storage area; garage, carport | 1 | 2.4% | |
| 10 | Structural area, other | 1 | 2.4% | |
| 11 | All other areas | 3 | 7.3% |
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 Bethany Beach mix.
| # | Heat source | Count | Share | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Undetermined | 26 | 63.4% | |
| 2 | Hot or smoldering object, other | 5 | 12.2% | |
| 3 | Arcing | 4 | 9.8% | |
| 4 | Heat from powered equipment, other | 3 | 7.3% | |
| 5 | Heat source: other | 1 | 2.4% | |
| 6 | Spark, ember or flame from operating equipment | 1 | 2.4% | |
| 7 | Multiple heat sources including multiple ignitions | 1 | 2.4% |
Per-capita rates let us compare apples to apples. Bethany Beach sits above the national average for incidents per resident.
Top 25 wildfires (1992+) in the FPA-FOD ignitions database, scaled by acres. 24,849 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 | 49.9 mi | |
| 2011 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 2,910 | 49.5 mi | |
| 1995 | Arson/incendiarism | 2,000 | 49.5 mi | |
| 2001 | Arson/incendiarism | 1,756 | 49.5 mi | |
| 2011 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 1,700 | 48.1 mi | |
| 2001 | Arson/incendiarism | 1,580 | 47.9 mi | |
| 2002 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 1,250 | 28.7 mi | |
| 2009 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 1,238 | 46.4 mi | |
| 2004 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 1,000 | 49.0 mi | |
| 2020 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 930 | 49.0 mi | |
| 2002 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 870 | 48.0 mi | |
| 2003 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 835 | 40.0 mi |
Top 2 ZIP codes by NFIRS incident count across 2021–2025. Each ZIP has its own fire profile — dive in for neighborhood-level context.
Six Delaware cities with population within ±25% of Bethany Beach. Useful comparison targets — same state, similar size, different fire profile.
1 departments report to NFIRS for incidents in Bethany Beach.
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.