In 2025, fire departments serving Grantsville responded to 54 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 80% of all calls.
Apr peaks. May dips. Watch for the typical fall climb starting in October.
227 incidents 2021–2025. Peak year was 2025. $35K cumulative property loss.
| Year | Incidents | YoY | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2021 | 37 | — | |
| 2022 | 41 | +10.8% | |
| 2023 | 50 | +22.0% | |
| 2024 | 45 | -10.0% | |
| 2025 | 54 | +20.0% |
For the 15 building fires Grantsville departments responded to in 2025, here's how they were classified once investigators were finished.
NFIRS Area of Origin (AREA_ORIG) for the 39 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 | 27 | 69.2% | |
| 2 | Engine area, running gear, wheel area | 4 | 10.3% | |
| 3 | Vehicle area, other | 3 | 7.7% | |
| 4 | Entrance way, lobby | 1 | 2.6% | |
| 5 | Substructure area or space, crawl space | 1 | 2.6% | |
| 6 | Wall assembly | 1 | 2.6% | |
| 7 | Cargo/trunk area - all vehicles | 1 | 2.6% | |
| 8 | Wildland, woods | 1 | 2.6% |
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 Grantsville mix.
| # | Heat source | Count | Share | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Undetermined | 36 | 92.3% | |
| 2 | Radiated, conducted heat from operating equipment | 1 | 2.6% | |
| 3 | Arcing | 1 | 2.6% | |
| 4 | Hot or smoldering object, other | 1 | 2.6% |
Per-capita rates let us compare apples to apples. Grantsville sits above the national average for incidents per resident.
Top 25 wildfires (1992+) in the FPA-FOD ignitions database, scaled by acres. 6,915 acres burned in this 50-mile radius. Each dot is a fire — bigger dots burned more land.
| Year | Cause | Acres | Distance | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2001 | Equipment and vehicle use | 1,800 | 49.4 mi | |
| 2014 | Arson/incendiarism | 888 | 28.0 mi | |
| 2005 | Railroad operations and maintenance | 755 | 21.6 mi | |
| 2010 | Debris and open burning | 610 | 49.7 mi | |
| 2008 | Railroad operations and maintenance | 480 | 22.4 mi | |
| 2001 | Smoking | 467 | 38.8 mi | |
| 2016 | Smoking | 394 | 29.2 mi | |
| 2016 | Arson/incendiarism | 190 | 49.2 mi | |
| 2016 | Arson/incendiarism | 173 | 45.0 mi | |
| 2015 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 150 | 45.8 mi | |
| 1995 | Debris and open burning | 115 | 29.6 mi | |
| 1995 | Debris and open burning | 115 | 29.6 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 Grantsville. 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.