In 2025, fire departments serving Delmar responded to 73 fire and hazmat incidents — from cooking fires to gas leaks to a single $250K 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 73% of all calls.
May peaks. Dec dips. Watch for the typical fall climb starting in October.
434 incidents 2021–2025. Peak year was 2022. $2.7M cumulative property loss.
| Year | Incidents | YoY | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2021 | 64 | — | |
| 2022 | 130 | +103.1% | |
| 2023 | 77 | -40.8% | |
| 2024 | 90 | +16.9% | |
| 2025 | 73 | -18.9% |
For the 27 building fires Delmar departments responded to in 2025, here's how they were classified once investigators were finished.
NFIRS Area of Origin (AREA_ORIG) for the 63 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 | 17.5% | |
| 2 | Engine area, running gear, wheel area | 8 | 12.7% | |
| 3 | Other | 6 | 9.5% | |
| 4 | Cooking area, kitchen | 5 | 7.9% | |
| 5 | Outside area, other | 5 | 7.9% | |
| 6 | Open area - outside; included are farmland, field | 5 | 7.9% | |
| 7 | Wall surface: exterior | 3 | 4.8% | |
| 8 | Common room, den, family room, living room, lounge | 2 | 3.2% | |
| 9 | Function area, other | 2 | 3.2% | |
| 10 | Vehicle storage area; garage, carport | 2 | 3.2% | |
| 11 | All other areas | 14 | 22.2% |
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 Delmar mix.
| # | Heat source | Count | Share | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Undetermined | 19 | 30.2% | |
| 2 | Heat source: other | 8 | 12.7% | |
| 3 | Spark, ember or flame from operating equipment | 8 | 12.7% | |
| 4 | Heat from powered equipment, other | 4 | 6.3% | |
| 5 | Arcing | 4 | 6.3% | |
| 6 | Heat, spark from friction | 4 | 6.3% | |
| 7 | Hot ember or ash | 4 | 6.3% | |
| 8 | Radiated, conducted heat from operating equipment | 2 | 3.2% | |
| 9 | Hot or smoldering object, other | 2 | 3.2% | |
| 10 | Radiated heat from another fire | 2 | 3.2% | |
| 11 | All other sources | 6 | 9.5% |
Largest single-incident property losses reported by Delmar departments in 2025. These 8 fires alone account for 100% of the city's annual total.
| # | Property loss | Type | Severity | Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | $250,000 | Building fires | Major | Investigated |
| 2 | $100,000 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
| 3 | $50,000 | Passenger vehicle fire | Significant | Investigated |
| 4 | $50,000 | Passenger vehicle fire | Significant | Investigated |
| 5 | $30,000 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
| 6 | $10,000 | Passenger vehicle fire | Significant | Investigated |
| 7 | $8,000 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
| 8 | $7,500 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
Per-capita rates let us compare apples to apples. Delmar sits above the national average for incidents per resident.
Top 25 wildfires (1992+) in the FPA-FOD ignitions database, scaled by acres. 34,504 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 | 22.9 mi | |
| 2011 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 2,910 | 22.6 mi | |
| 2009 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 2,124 | 24.4 mi | |
| 2010 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 2,066 | 24.0 mi | |
| 2005 | Arson/incendiarism | 1,800 | 23.2 mi | |
| 2001 | Arson/incendiarism | 1,756 | 22.7 mi | |
| 2011 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 1,700 | 21.2 mi | |
| 2006 | Arson/incendiarism | 1,596 | 26.9 mi | |
| 2001 | Arson/incendiarism | 1,580 | 21.1 mi | |
| 2011 | Arson/incendiarism | 1,367 | 27.1 mi | |
| 2014 | Arson/incendiarism | 1,348 | 38.5 mi | |
| 2002 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 1,250 | 33.5 mi |
Top 5 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 Delmar. Useful comparison targets — same state, similar size, different fire profile.
1 departments report to NFIRS for incidents in Delmar.
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.