In 2025, fire departments serving Ellendale responded to 25 fire and hazmat incidents . Here's the full picture.
Fire, other lead by count. Building fires lead by dollars. Together the top five categories make up about 72% of all calls.
Apr peaks. Jan dips. Watch for the typical fall climb starting in October.
146 incidents 2021–2025. Peak year was 2023. $343K cumulative property loss.
| Year | Incidents | YoY | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2021 | 20 | — | |
| 2022 | 27 | +35.0% | |
| 2023 | 38 | +40.7% | |
| 2024 | 36 | -5.3% | |
| 2025 | 25 | -30.6% |
For the 5 building fires Ellendale departments responded to in 2025, here's how they were classified once investigators were finished.
NFIRS Area of Origin (AREA_ORIG) for the 42 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 | 22 | 52.4% | |
| 2 | Outside area, other | 4 | 9.5% | |
| 3 | Storage area, other | 3 | 7.1% | |
| 4 | Function area, other | 2 | 4.8% | |
| 5 | Wildland, woods | 2 | 4.8% | |
| 6 | Laundry area, wash house (laundry) | 1 | 2.4% | |
| 7 | Closet | 1 | 2.4% | |
| 8 | Heating room or area, water heater area | 1 | 2.4% | |
| 9 | Substructure area or space, crawl space | 1 | 2.4% | |
| 10 | Vehicle area, other | 1 | 2.4% | |
| 11 | All other areas | 4 | 9.5% |
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 Ellendale mix.
| # | Heat source | Count | Share | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Undetermined | 33 | 78.6% | |
| 2 | Spark, ember or flame from operating equipment | 2 | 4.8% | |
| 3 | Hot or smoldering object, other | 1 | 2.4% | |
| 4 | Molten, hot material | 1 | 2.4% | |
| 5 | Hot ember or ash | 1 | 2.4% | |
| 6 | Heat from other open flame or smoking materials | 1 | 2.4% | |
| 7 | Match | 1 | 2.4% | |
| 8 | Chemical reaction | 1 | 2.4% | |
| 9 | Multiple heat sources including multiple ignitions | 1 | 2.4% |
Per-capita rates let us compare apples to apples. Ellendale sits above the national average for incidents per resident.
Top 25 wildfires (1992+) in the FPA-FOD ignitions database, scaled by acres. 36,815 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 | 40.8 mi | |
| 2011 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 2,910 | 42.0 mi | |
| 2009 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 2,124 | 43.0 mi | |
| 2010 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 2,066 | 42.5 mi | |
| 1995 | Arson/incendiarism | 2,000 | 26.9 mi | |
| 2005 | Arson/incendiarism | 1,800 | 42.9 mi | |
| 2001 | Arson/incendiarism | 1,756 | 42.4 mi | |
| 2011 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 1,700 | 40.4 mi | |
| 2006 | Arson/incendiarism | 1,596 | 44.6 mi | |
| 2001 | Arson/incendiarism | 1,580 | 41.4 mi | |
| 2014 | Arson/incendiarism | 1,535 | 39.2 mi | |
| 2020 | Natural | 1,518 | 39.1 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 Delaware cities with population within ±25% of Ellendale. Useful comparison targets — same state, similar size, different fire profile.
1 departments report to NFIRS for incidents in Ellendale.
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.