In 2025, fire departments serving Dagsboro responded to 58 fire and hazmat incidents — from cooking fires to gas leaks to a single $30K building blaze. Here's the full picture.
Fire, other lead by count. Building fires lead by dollars. Together the top five categories make up about 55% of all calls.
Mar peaks. Dec dips. Watch for the typical fall climb starting in October.
335 incidents 2021–2025. Peak year was 2022. $155K cumulative property loss.
| Year | Incidents | YoY | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2021 | 72 | — | |
| 2022 | 81 | +12.5% | |
| 2023 | 60 | -25.9% | |
| 2024 | 64 | +6.7% | |
| 2025 | 58 | -9.4% |
For the 8 building fires Dagsboro departments responded to in 2025, here's how they were classified once investigators were finished.
NFIRS Area of Origin (AREA_ORIG) for the 79 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 | 20 | 25.3% | |
| 2 | Outside area, other | 7 | 8.9% | |
| 3 | Engine area, running gear, wheel area | 6 | 7.6% | |
| 4 | Open area - outside; included are farmland, field | 6 | 7.6% | |
| 5 | Vehicle area, other | 4 | 5.1% | |
| 6 | Wildland, woods | 4 | 5.1% | |
| 7 | Other | 3 | 3.8% | |
| 8 | Cooking area, kitchen | 3 | 3.8% | |
| 9 | Wall assembly | 3 | 3.8% | |
| 10 | Cargo/trunk area - all vehicles | 3 | 3.8% | |
| 11 | All other areas | 20 | 25.3% |
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 Dagsboro mix.
| # | Heat source | Count | Share | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Undetermined | 44 | 55.7% | |
| 2 | Hot ember or ash | 9 | 11.4% | |
| 3 | Spark, ember or flame from operating equipment | 4 | 5.1% | |
| 4 | Flame/torch used for lighting | 4 | 5.1% | |
| 5 | Radiated, conducted heat from operating equipment | 3 | 3.8% | |
| 6 | Hot or smoldering object, other | 3 | 3.8% | |
| 7 | Heat source: other | 2 | 2.5% | |
| 8 | Heat from powered equipment, other | 2 | 2.5% | |
| 9 | Arcing | 2 | 2.5% | |
| 10 | Match | 2 | 2.5% | |
| 11 | All other sources | 4 | 5.1% |
Largest single-incident property losses reported by Dagsboro departments in 2025. These 3 fires alone account for 100% of the city's annual total.
| # | Property loss | Type | Severity | Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | $30,000 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
| 2 | $500 | Natural vegetation fire, other | Significant | Investigated |
| 3 | $1 | Road freight or transport vehicle fire | Significant | Investigated |
Per-capita rates let us compare apples to apples. Dagsboro sits above the national average for incidents per resident.
Top 25 wildfires (1992+) in the FPA-FOD ignitions database, scaled by acres. 35,804 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 | 40.5 mi | |
| 2011 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 2,910 | 40.2 mi | |
| 2009 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 2,124 | 42.0 mi | |
| 2010 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 2,066 | 41.6 mi | |
| 1995 | Arson/incendiarism | 2,000 | 46.1 mi | |
| 2005 | Arson/incendiarism | 1,800 | 40.9 mi | |
| 2001 | Arson/incendiarism | 1,756 | 40.3 mi | |
| 2011 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 1,700 | 38.8 mi | |
| 2006 | Arson/incendiarism | 1,596 | 44.5 mi | |
| 2001 | Arson/incendiarism | 1,580 | 38.8 mi | |
| 2011 | Arson/incendiarism | 1,367 | 44.7 mi | |
| 2014 | Arson/incendiarism | 1,348 | 49.6 mi |
Top 4 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 Dagsboro. Useful comparison targets — same state, similar size, different fire profile.
1 departments report to NFIRS for incidents in Dagsboro.
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.