In 2025, fire departments serving Claymont responded to 269 fire and hazmat incidents — from cooking fires to gas leaks to a single $2K building blaze. Here's the full picture.
Building fires lead by count. Building fires lead by dollars. Together the top five categories make up about 82% of all calls.
Feb peaks. Dec dips. Watch for the typical fall climb starting in October.
1,454 incidents 2021–2025. Peak year was 2024. $136K cumulative property loss.
| Year | Incidents | YoY | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2021 | 254 | — | |
| 2022 | 239 | -5.9% | |
| 2023 | 315 | +31.8% | |
| 2024 | 377 | +19.7% | |
| 2025 | 269 | -28.6% |
For the 106 building fires Claymont departments responded to in 2025, here's how they were classified once investigators were finished.
NFIRS Area of Origin (AREA_ORIG) for the 44 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 | 15 | 34.1% | |
| 2 | Undetermined | 9 | 20.5% | |
| 3 | Cooking area, kitchen | 3 | 6.8% | |
| 4 | Outside area, other | 3 | 6.8% | |
| 5 | Other | 2 | 4.5% | |
| 6 | Common room, den, family room, living room, lounge | 2 | 4.5% | |
| 7 | Wall surface: exterior | 2 | 4.5% | |
| 8 | Vehicle area, other | 2 | 4.5% | |
| 9 | Sales area, showroom (exclude display window) | 1 | 2.3% | |
| 10 | Bedroom - < 5 persons; included are jail or prison | 1 | 2.3% | |
| 11 | All other areas | 4 | 9.1% |
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 Claymont mix.
| # | Heat source | Count | Share | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Undetermined | 24 | 54.5% | |
| 2 | Heat source: other | 6 | 13.6% | |
| 3 | Heat from powered equipment, other | 4 | 9.1% | |
| 4 | Radiated, conducted heat from operating equipment | 3 | 6.8% | |
| 5 | Arcing | 3 | 6.8% | |
| 6 | Hot ember or ash | 2 | 4.5% | |
| 7 | Backfire from internal combustion engine | 1 | 2.3% | |
| 8 | Multiple heat sources including multiple ignitions | 1 | 2.3% |
Largest single-incident property losses reported by Claymont departments in 2025. These 3 fires alone account for 100% of the city's annual total.
| # | Property loss | Type | Severity | Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | $2,000 | Mobile property (vehicle) fire, other | Significant | Investigated |
| 2 | $1,500 | Passenger vehicle fire | Significant | Investigated |
| 3 | $1 | Grass fire | Significant | Investigated |
Per-capita rates let us compare apples to apples. Claymont sits above the national average for incidents per resident.
Top 25 wildfires (1992+) in the FPA-FOD ignitions database, scaled by acres. 30,918 acres burned in this 50-mile radius. Each dot is a fire — bigger dots burned more land.
| Year | Cause | Acres | Distance | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2017 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 3,577 | 44.4 mi | |
| 1992 | Arson/incendiarism | 2,900 | 47.3 mi | |
| 2007 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 2,450 | 40.7 mi | |
| 2020 | Arson/incendiarism | 2,107 | 32.0 mi | |
| 1995 | Arson/incendiarism | 2,000 | 41.7 mi | |
| 2008 | Arson/incendiarism | 1,950 | 37.2 mi | |
| 1997 | Arson/incendiarism | 1,900 | 40.8 mi | |
| 2014 | Arson/incendiarism | 1,600 | 45.1 mi | |
| 2014 | Arson/incendiarism | 1,535 | 38.1 mi | |
| 2020 | Natural | 1,518 | 39.2 mi | |
| 2012 | Arson/incendiarism | 1,000 | 43.9 mi | |
| 2014 | Arson/incendiarism | 910 | 35.3 mi |
Top 10 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 Claymont. Useful comparison targets — same state, similar size, different fire profile.
1 departments report to NFIRS for incidents in Claymont.
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.