In 2025, fire departments serving Hancock responded to 120 fire and hazmat incidents — from cooking fires to gas leaks to a single $130K building blaze. Here's the full picture.
Power line down lead by count. Building fires lead by dollars. Together the top five categories make up about 58% of all calls.
Nov peaks. Mar dips. Watch for the typical fall climb starting in October.
540 incidents 2021–2025. Peak year was 2024. $2.1M cumulative property loss.
| Year | Incidents | YoY | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2021 | 87 | — | |
| 2022 | 85 | -2.3% | |
| 2023 | 108 | +27.1% | |
| 2024 | 140 | +29.6% | |
| 2025 | 120 | -14.3% |
For the 15 building fires Hancock departments responded to in 2025, here's how they were classified once investigators were finished.
NFIRS Area of Origin (AREA_ORIG) for the 112 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 | 24 | 21.4% | |
| 2 | Undetermined | 19 | 17.0% | |
| 3 | Open area - outside; included are farmland, field | 12 | 10.7% | |
| 4 | Outside area, other | 10 | 8.9% | |
| 5 | Highway, parking lot, street: on or near | 7 | 6.2% | |
| 6 | Wildland, woods | 7 | 6.2% | |
| 7 | Other | 4 | 3.6% | |
| 8 | Cooking area, kitchen | 4 | 3.6% | |
| 9 | Vehicle storage area; garage, carport | 3 | 2.7% | |
| 10 | Cargo/trunk area - all vehicles | 3 | 2.7% | |
| 11 | All other areas | 19 | 17.0% |
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 Hancock mix.
| # | Heat source | Count | Share | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Undetermined | 44 | 39.3% | |
| 2 | Heat from powered equipment, other | 11 | 9.8% | |
| 3 | Radiated, conducted heat from operating equipment | 11 | 9.8% | |
| 4 | Arcing | 10 | 8.9% | |
| 5 | Hot or smoldering object, other | 6 | 5.4% | |
| 6 | Spark, ember or flame from operating equipment | 5 | 4.5% | |
| 7 | Hot ember or ash | 5 | 4.5% | |
| 8 | Cigarette lighter | 4 | 3.6% | |
| 9 | Heat source: other | 3 | 2.7% | |
| 10 | Heat from other open flame or smoking materials | 3 | 2.7% | |
| 11 | All other sources | 10 | 8.9% |
Largest single-incident property losses reported by Hancock departments in 2025. These 8 fires alone account for 100% of the city's annual total.
| # | Property loss | Type | Severity | Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | $130,000 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
| 2 | $20,000 | Passenger vehicle fire | Significant | Investigated |
| 3 | $10,000 | Passenger vehicle fire | Significant | Investigated |
| 4 | $10,000 | Passenger vehicle fire | Significant | Investigated |
| 5 | $5,000 | Passenger vehicle fire | Significant | Investigated |
| 6 | $5,000 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
| 7 | $1,000 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
| 8 | $1,000 | Road freight or transport vehicle fire | Significant | Investigated |
Per-capita rates let us compare apples to apples. Hancock sits above the national average for incidents per resident.
Top 25 wildfires (1992+) in the FPA-FOD ignitions database, scaled by acres. 6,683 acres burned in this 50-mile radius. Each dot is a fire — bigger dots burned more land.
| Year | Cause | Acres | Distance | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2001 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 1,000 | 12.1 mi | |
| 2014 | Arson/incendiarism | 888 | 27.8 mi | |
| 2005 | Railroad operations and maintenance | 755 | 34.1 mi | |
| 2010 | Debris and open burning | 610 | 49.1 mi | |
| 2008 | Railroad operations and maintenance | 480 | 32.6 mi | |
| 1996 | Recreation and ceremony | 405 | 43.7 mi | |
| 1996 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 400 | 44.3 mi | |
| 1996 | Arson/incendiarism | 350 | 45.0 mi | |
| 2016 | Arson/incendiarism | 345 | 28.9 mi | |
| 2000 | Natural | 300 | 37.6 mi | |
| 1995 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 150 | 38.4 mi | |
| 2012 | Arson/incendiarism | 145 | 8.9 mi |
Top 7 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 Hancock. 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.