In 2025, fire departments serving Boonsboro responded to 150 fire and hazmat incidents — from cooking fires to gas leaks to a single $100K building blaze. Here's the full picture.
Power line down lead by count. Building fires lead by dollars. Together the top five categories make up about 62% of all calls.
Jul peaks. Jun dips. Watch for the typical fall climb starting in October.
544 incidents 2021–2025. Peak year was 2025. $1.4M cumulative property loss.
| Year | Incidents | YoY | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2021 | 70 | — | |
| 2022 | 101 | +44.3% | |
| 2023 | 119 | +17.8% | |
| 2024 | 104 | -12.6% | |
| 2025 | 150 | +44.2% |
For the 29 building fires Boonsboro departments responded to in 2025, here's how they were classified once investigators were finished.
NFIRS Area of Origin (AREA_ORIG) for the 64 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 | 13 | 20.3% | |
| 2 | Undetermined | 13 | 20.3% | |
| 3 | Outside area, other | 5 | 7.8% | |
| 4 | Other | 4 | 6.2% | |
| 5 | Cooking area, kitchen | 4 | 6.2% | |
| 6 | Vehicle area, other | 4 | 6.2% | |
| 7 | Storage: supplies or tools; dead storage | 3 | 4.7% | |
| 8 | Attic: vacant, crawl space above top story, cupola | 3 | 4.7% | |
| 9 | Storage area, other | 2 | 3.1% | |
| 10 | Ceiling & floor assembly, crawl space b/t stories | 2 | 3.1% | |
| 11 | All other areas | 11 | 17.2% |
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 Boonsboro mix.
| # | Heat source | Count | Share | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Undetermined | 36 | 56.2% | |
| 2 | Arcing | 9 | 14.1% | |
| 3 | Radiated, conducted heat from operating equipment | 3 | 4.7% | |
| 4 | Hot or smoldering object, other | 3 | 4.7% | |
| 5 | Heat source: other | 2 | 3.1% | |
| 6 | Heat from powered equipment, other | 2 | 3.1% | |
| 7 | Hot ember or ash | 2 | 3.1% | |
| 8 | Flying brand, ember, spark | 2 | 3.1% | |
| 9 | Heat, spark from friction | 1 | 1.6% | |
| 10 | Heat from other open flame or smoking materials | 1 | 1.6% | |
| 11 | All other sources | 3 | 4.7% |
Largest single-incident property losses reported by Boonsboro departments in 2025. These 8 fires alone account for 96% of the city's annual total.
| # | Property loss | Type | Severity | Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | $100,000 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
| 2 | $30,000 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
| 3 | $30,000 | Passenger vehicle fire | Significant | Investigated |
| 4 | $25,000 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
| 5 | $18,500 | Passenger vehicle fire | Significant | Investigated |
| 6 | $15,000 | Special outside fire, other | Significant | Investigated |
| 7 | $14,000 | Passenger vehicle fire | Significant | Investigated |
| 8 | $7,500 | Outside storage fire | Significant | Investigated |
Per-capita rates let us compare apples to apples. Boonsboro sits above the national average for incidents per resident.
Top 25 wildfires (1992+) in the FPA-FOD ignitions database, scaled by acres. 3,913 acres burned in this 50-mile radius. Each dot is a fire — bigger dots burned more land.
| Year | Cause | Acres | Distance | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2001 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 1,000 | 20.6 mi | |
| 2011 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 461 | 32.7 mi | |
| 1996 | Recreation and ceremony | 405 | 28.0 mi | |
| 1996 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 400 | 29.0 mi | |
| 1996 | Arson/incendiarism | 350 | 30.8 mi | |
| 1995 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 150 | 29.8 mi | |
| 2012 | Arson/incendiarism | 145 | 22.7 mi | |
| 2006 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 105 | 27.4 mi | |
| 2001 | Debris and open burning | 91 | 49.2 mi | |
| 2018 | Debris and open burning | 76 | 21.9 mi | |
| 2016 | Arson/incendiarism | 72 | 48.5 mi | |
| 2008 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 63 | 42.7 mi |
Top 4 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 Boonsboro. 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.