In 2025, fire departments serving Catonsville responded to 260 fire and hazmat incidents — from cooking fires to gas leaks to a single $60K 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 59% of all calls.
Apr peaks. Sep dips. Watch for the typical fall climb starting in October.
1,034 incidents 2021–2025. Peak year was 2025. $640K cumulative property loss.
| Year | Incidents | YoY | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2021 | 170 | — | |
| 2022 | 218 | +28.2% | |
| 2023 | 148 | -32.1% | |
| 2024 | 238 | +60.8% | |
| 2025 | 260 | +9.2% |
For the 2 building fires Catonsville departments responded to in 2025, here's how they were classified once investigators were finished.
NFIRS Area of Origin (AREA_ORIG) for the 77 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 | Outside area, other | 21 | 27.3% | |
| 2 | Engine area, running gear, wheel area | 19 | 24.7% | |
| 3 | Wildland, woods | 6 | 7.8% | |
| 4 | Other | 4 | 5.2% | |
| 5 | Open area - outside; included are farmland, field | 4 | 5.2% | |
| 6 | Operator/passenger area of transportation equip. | 3 | 3.9% | |
| 7 | Undetermined | 3 | 3.9% | |
| 8 | Egress/exit, other | 2 | 2.6% | |
| 9 | Bedroom - < 5 persons; included are jail or prison | 2 | 2.6% | |
| 10 | Vehicle area, other | 2 | 2.6% | |
| 11 | All other areas | 11 | 14.3% |
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 Catonsville mix.
| # | Heat source | Count | Share | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Undetermined | 32 | 41.6% | |
| 2 | Heat from powered equipment, other | 7 | 9.1% | |
| 3 | Heat source: other | 6 | 7.8% | |
| 4 | Arcing | 6 | 7.8% | |
| 5 | Hot ember or ash | 5 | 6.5% | |
| 6 | Radiated, conducted heat from operating equipment | 4 | 5.2% | |
| 7 | Hot or smoldering object, other | 3 | 3.9% | |
| 8 | Heat, spark from friction | 3 | 3.9% | |
| 9 | Heat from other open flame or smoking materials | 3 | 3.9% | |
| 10 | Cigarette | 2 | 2.6% | |
| 11 | All other sources | 6 | 7.8% |
Largest single-incident property losses reported by Catonsville departments in 2025. These 8 fires alone account for 69% of the city's annual total.
| # | Property loss | Type | Severity | Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | $60,000 | Passenger vehicle fire | Significant | Investigated |
| 2 | $25,000 | Passenger vehicle fire | Significant | Investigated |
| 3 | $20,000 | Passenger vehicle fire | Significant | Investigated |
| 4 | $20,000 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
| 5 | $20,000 | Passenger vehicle fire | Significant | Investigated |
| 6 | $20,000 | Passenger vehicle fire | Significant | Investigated |
| 7 | $15,000 | Passenger vehicle fire | Significant | Investigated |
| 8 | $15,000 | Passenger vehicle fire | Significant | Investigated |
Per-capita rates let us compare apples to apples. Catonsville sits below the national average for incidents per resident.
Top 25 wildfires (1992+) in the FPA-FOD ignitions database, scaled by acres. 3,672 acres burned in this 50-mile radius. Each dot is a fire — bigger dots burned more land.
| Year | Cause | Acres | Distance | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2001 | Arson/incendiarism | 522 | 36.0 mi | |
| 2011 | Recreation and ceremony | 500 | 16.5 mi | |
| 2011 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 461 | 30.3 mi | |
| 2011 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 431 | 38.8 mi | |
| 2003 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 408 | 26.8 mi | |
| 2011 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 344 | 49.3 mi | |
| 2011 | Natural | 150 | 42.3 mi | |
| 2001 | Arson/incendiarism | 100 | 26.8 mi | |
| 2018 | Debris and open burning | 76 | 39.3 mi | |
| 2008 | Debris and open burning | 75 | 48.4 mi | |
| 2019 | Equipment and vehicle use | 67 | 43.7 mi | |
| 2006 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 59 | 12.6 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 | 21228 | 1,034 |
Six Maryland cities with population within ±25% of Catonsville. 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.