In 2025, fire departments serving Brandywine responded to 74 fire and hazmat incidents — from cooking fires to gas leaks to a single $520K building blaze. 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 61% of all calls.
Apr peaks. Aug dips. Watch for the typical fall climb starting in October.
565 incidents 2021–2025. Peak year was 2022. $3.1M cumulative property loss.
| Year | Incidents | YoY | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2021 | 134 | — | |
| 2022 | 159 | +18.7% | |
| 2023 | 96 | -39.6% | |
| 2024 | 102 | +6.2% | |
| 2025 | 74 | -27.5% |
For the 5 building fires Brandywine departments responded to in 2025, here's how they were classified once investigators were finished.
NFIRS Area of Origin (AREA_ORIG) for the 128 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 | 41 | 32.0% | |
| 2 | Engine area, running gear, wheel area | 28 | 21.9% | |
| 3 | Vehicle area, other | 11 | 8.6% | |
| 4 | Corridor, mall | 6 | 4.7% | |
| 5 | Cooking area, kitchen | 5 | 3.9% | |
| 6 | Vehicle storage area; garage, carport | 5 | 3.9% | |
| 7 | Open area - outside; included are farmland, field | 5 | 3.9% | |
| 8 | Outside area, other | 4 | 3.1% | |
| 9 | Common room, den, family room, living room, lounge | 3 | 2.3% | |
| 10 | Entrance way, lobby | 2 | 1.6% | |
| 11 | All other areas | 18 | 14.1% |
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 Brandywine mix.
| # | Heat source | Count | Share | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Undetermined | 80 | 62.5% | |
| 2 | Spark, ember or flame from operating equipment | 15 | 11.7% | |
| 3 | Heat from powered equipment, other | 7 | 5.5% | |
| 4 | Heat source: other | 6 | 4.7% | |
| 5 | Radiated, conducted heat from operating equipment | 4 | 3.1% | |
| 6 | Arcing | 4 | 3.1% | |
| 7 | Heat, spark from friction | 3 | 2.3% | |
| 8 | Heat from other open flame or smoking materials | 2 | 1.6% | |
| 9 | Heat spread from another fire, other | 2 | 1.6% | |
| 10 | Hot ember or ash | 1 | 0.8% | |
| 11 | All other sources | 4 | 3.1% |
Largest single-incident property losses reported by Brandywine departments in 2025. These 8 fires alone account for 100% of the city's annual total.
| # | Property loss | Type | Severity | Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | $520,000 | Building fires | Major | Investigated |
| 2 | $50,000 | Fire, other | Significant | Investigated |
| 3 | $30,000 | Fire, other | Significant | Investigated |
| 4 | $20,000 | Passenger vehicle fire | Significant | Investigated |
| 5 | $20,000 | Mobile property (vehicle) fire, other | Significant | Investigated |
| 6 | $5,000 | Mobile property (vehicle) fire, other | Significant | Investigated |
| 7 | $2,000 | Fire, other | Significant | Investigated |
| 8 | $1,000 | Fire, other | Significant | Investigated |
Per-capita rates let us compare apples to apples. Brandywine sits below the national average for incidents per resident.
Top 25 wildfires (1992+) in the FPA-FOD ignitions database, scaled by acres. 8,493 acres burned in this 50-mile radius. Each dot is a fire — bigger dots burned more land.
| Year | Cause | Acres | Distance | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1999 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 640 | 29.1 mi | |
| 2011 | Recreation and ceremony | 500 | 24.4 mi | |
| 2017 | Arson/incendiarism | 483 | 49.1 mi | |
| 2011 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 461 | 37.0 mi | |
| 2011 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 431 | 5.2 mi | |
| 1995 | Arson/incendiarism | 410 | 47.5 mi | |
| 2003 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 408 | 32.5 mi | |
| 2005 | Arson/incendiarism | 370 | 39.7 mi | |
| 2007 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 370 | 45.2 mi | |
| 1995 | Arson/incendiarism | 360 | 43.8 mi | |
| 2011 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 344 | 13.8 mi | |
| 2006 | Arson/incendiarism | 318 | 29.5 mi |
Top 5 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 Brandywine. 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.