In 2025, fire departments serving Chester responded to 77 fire and hazmat incidents . Here's the full picture.
Building fires lead by count. Building fires lead by dollars. Together the top five categories make up about 64% of all calls.
Feb peaks. May dips. Watch for the typical fall climb starting in October.
315 incidents 2021–2025. Peak year was 2024.
| Year | Incidents | YoY | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2021 | 51 | — | |
| 2022 | 64 | +25.5% | |
| 2023 | 41 | -35.9% | |
| 2024 | 82 | +100.0% | |
| 2025 | 77 | -6.1% |
For the 21 building fires Chester departments responded to in 2025, here's how they were classified once investigators were finished.
NFIRS Area of Origin (AREA_ORIG) for the 78 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 | 26 | 33.3% | |
| 2 | Engine area, running gear, wheel area | 10 | 12.8% | |
| 3 | Undetermined | 7 | 9.0% | |
| 4 | Other | 4 | 5.1% | |
| 5 | Vehicle area, other | 4 | 5.1% | |
| 6 | Highway, parking lot, street: on or near | 4 | 5.1% | |
| 7 | Open area - outside; included are farmland, field | 4 | 5.1% | |
| 8 | Cooking area, kitchen | 3 | 3.8% | |
| 9 | Vehicle storage area; garage, carport | 2 | 2.6% | |
| 10 | Wildland, woods | 2 | 2.6% | |
| 11 | All other areas | 12 | 15.4% |
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 Chester mix.
| # | Heat source | Count | Share | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Undetermined | 48 | 61.5% | |
| 2 | Hot or smoldering object, other | 5 | 6.4% | |
| 3 | Arcing | 3 | 3.8% | |
| 4 | Hot ember or ash | 3 | 3.8% | |
| 5 | Heat from powered equipment, other | 2 | 2.6% | |
| 6 | Spark, ember or flame from operating equipment | 2 | 2.6% | |
| 7 | Cigarette lighter | 2 | 2.6% | |
| 8 | Sunlight | 2 | 2.6% | |
| 9 | Chemical reaction | 2 | 2.6% | |
| 10 | Heat source: other | 1 | 1.3% | |
| 11 | All other sources | 8 | 10.3% |
Per-capita rates let us compare apples to apples. Chester sits above the national average for incidents per resident.
Top 25 wildfires (1992+) in the FPA-FOD ignitions database, scaled by acres. 34,336 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 | 42.6 mi | |
| 2011 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 2,910 | 45.4 mi | |
| 2009 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 2,124 | 44.0 mi | |
| 2010 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 2,066 | 43.9 mi | |
| 1995 | Arson/incendiarism | 2,000 | 48.9 mi | |
| 2005 | Arson/incendiarism | 1,800 | 46.1 mi | |
| 2001 | Arson/incendiarism | 1,756 | 46.0 mi | |
| 2011 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 1,700 | 44.8 mi | |
| 2006 | Arson/incendiarism | 1,596 | 42.7 mi | |
| 2001 | Arson/incendiarism | 1,580 | 47.0 mi | |
| 2011 | Arson/incendiarism | 1,367 | 43.4 mi | |
| 2009 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 1,238 | 45.4 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 | 21619 | 315 |
Six Maryland cities with population within ±25% of Chester. 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.