In 2025, fire departments serving Crisfield responded to 48 fire and hazmat incidents . Here's the full picture.
Power line down lead by count. Building fires lead by dollars. Together the top five categories make up about 90% of all calls.
Mar peaks. May dips. Watch for the typical fall climb starting in October.
210 incidents 2021–2025. Peak year was 2022. $620K cumulative property loss.
| Year | Incidents | YoY | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2021 | 30 | — | |
| 2022 | 58 | +93.3% | |
| 2023 | 42 | -27.6% | |
| 2024 | 32 | -23.8% | |
| 2025 | 48 | +50.0% |
For the 14 building fires Crisfield departments responded to in 2025, here's how they were classified once investigators were finished.
NFIRS Area of Origin (AREA_ORIG) for the 29 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 | 11 | 37.9% | |
| 2 | Outside area, other | 5 | 17.2% | |
| 3 | Highway, parking lot, street: on or near | 4 | 13.8% | |
| 4 | Common room, den, family room, living room, lounge | 2 | 6.9% | |
| 5 | Cooking area, kitchen | 2 | 6.9% | |
| 6 | Engine area, running gear, wheel area | 2 | 6.9% | |
| 7 | Storage: supplies or tools; dead storage | 1 | 3.4% | |
| 8 | Chute/container - trash, rubbish, waste | 1 | 3.4% | |
| 9 | Attic: vacant, crawl space above top story, cupola | 1 | 3.4% |
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 Crisfield mix.
| # | Heat source | Count | Share | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Undetermined | 25 | 86.2% | |
| 2 | Arcing | 1 | 3.4% | |
| 3 | Hot ember or ash | 1 | 3.4% | |
| 4 | Fireworks | 1 | 3.4% | |
| 5 | Lightning | 1 | 3.4% |
Per-capita rates let us compare apples to apples. Crisfield sits above the national average for incidents per resident.
Top 25 wildfires (1992+) in the FPA-FOD ignitions database, scaled by acres. 33,905 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 | 29.5 mi | |
| 2011 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 2,910 | 26.8 mi | |
| 2009 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 2,124 | 27.9 mi | |
| 2010 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 2,066 | 28.0 mi | |
| 2005 | Arson/incendiarism | 1,800 | 25.9 mi | |
| 2001 | Arson/incendiarism | 1,756 | 26.1 mi | |
| 2011 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 1,700 | 27.7 mi | |
| 2006 | Arson/incendiarism | 1,596 | 29.2 mi | |
| 2001 | Arson/incendiarism | 1,580 | 25.5 mi | |
| 2011 | Arson/incendiarism | 1,367 | 28.5 mi | |
| 2014 | Arson/incendiarism | 1,348 | 10.1 mi | |
| 2009 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 1,238 | 27.6 mi |
Top 2 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 Crisfield. 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.