In 2025, fire departments serving Derwood responded to 65 fire and hazmat incidents — from cooking fires to gas leaks to a single $75K building blaze. Here's the full picture.
Gas leak (natural gas or LPG) lead by count. Building fires lead by dollars. Together the top five categories make up about 52% of all calls.
Jul peaks. Aug dips. Watch for the typical fall climb starting in October.
339 incidents 2021–2025. Peak year was 2024. $1.5M cumulative property loss. 1 civilian deaths.
| Year | Incidents | YoY | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2021 | 61 | — | |
| 2022 | 70 | +14.8% | |
| 2023 | 66 | -5.7% | |
| 2024 | 77 | +16.7% | |
| 2025 | 65 | -15.6% |
For the 1 building fires Derwood departments responded to in 2025, here's how they were classified once investigators were finished.
NFIRS Area of Origin (AREA_ORIG) for the 110 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 | 17 | 15.5% | |
| 2 | Cooking area, kitchen | 12 | 10.9% | |
| 3 | Outside area, other | 11 | 10.0% | |
| 4 | Other | 9 | 8.2% | |
| 5 | Chute/container - trash, rubbish, waste | 9 | 8.2% | |
| 6 | Vehicle area, other | 7 | 6.4% | |
| 7 | Open area - outside; included are farmland, field | 5 | 4.5% | |
| 8 | Wildland, woods | 5 | 4.5% | |
| 9 | Function area, other | 4 | 3.6% | |
| 10 | Undetermined | 4 | 3.6% | |
| 11 | All other areas | 27 | 24.5% |
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 Derwood mix.
| # | Heat source | Count | Share | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Undetermined | 46 | 41.8% | |
| 2 | Hot or smoldering object, other | 10 | 9.1% | |
| 3 | Radiated, conducted heat from operating equipment | 8 | 7.3% | |
| 4 | Heat from powered equipment, other | 7 | 6.4% | |
| 5 | Hot ember or ash | 6 | 5.5% | |
| 6 | Heat source: other | 5 | 4.5% | |
| 7 | Spark, ember or flame from operating equipment | 5 | 4.5% | |
| 8 | Arcing | 5 | 4.5% | |
| 9 | Chemical reaction | 3 | 2.7% | |
| 10 | Heat, spark from friction | 2 | 1.8% | |
| 11 | All other sources | 13 | 11.8% |
Largest single-incident property losses reported by Derwood departments in 2025. These 5 fires alone account for 100% of the city's annual total.
| # | Property loss | Type | Severity | Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | $75,000 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
| 2 | $18,000 | Passenger vehicle fire | Significant | Investigated |
| 3 | $15,000 | Passenger vehicle fire | Significant | Investigated |
| 4 | $12,000 | Passenger vehicle fire | Significant | Investigated |
| 5 | $3,000 | Dumpster or other outside trash receptacle fire | Significant | Investigated |
Per-capita rates let us compare apples to apples. Derwood sits above the national average for incidents per resident.
Top 25 wildfires (1992+) in the FPA-FOD ignitions database, scaled by acres. 5,763 acres burned in this 50-mile radius. Each dot is a fire — bigger dots burned more land.
| Year | Cause | Acres | Distance | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1999 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 640 | 41.3 mi | |
| 2011 | Recreation and ceremony | 500 | 23.6 mi | |
| 2011 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 461 | 7.2 mi | |
| 2011 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 431 | 28.2 mi | |
| 2003 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 408 | 41.2 mi | |
| 1996 | Recreation and ceremony | 405 | 36.9 mi | |
| 1996 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 400 | 37.5 mi | |
| 1996 | Arson/incendiarism | 350 | 39.0 mi | |
| 2011 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 344 | 45.6 mi | |
| 2006 | Arson/incendiarism | 318 | 38.3 mi | |
| 1999 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 250 | 39.4 mi | |
| 1999 | Debris and open burning | 200 | 49.5 mi |
Top 8 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 Derwood. 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.