In 2025, fire departments serving Harrington responded to 78 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 62% of all calls.
Aug peaks. Dec dips. Watch for the typical fall climb starting in October.
406 incidents 2021–2025. Peak year was 2021. $1.5M cumulative property loss.
| Year | Incidents | YoY | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2021 | 94 | — | |
| 2022 | 86 | -8.5% | |
| 2023 | 74 | -14.0% | |
| 2024 | 74 | +0.0% | |
| 2025 | 78 | +5.4% |
For the 23 building fires Harrington departments responded to in 2025, here's how they were classified once investigators were finished.
NFIRS Area of Origin (AREA_ORIG) for the 109 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 | 30 | 27.5% | |
| 2 | Open area - outside; included are farmland, field | 21 | 19.3% | |
| 3 | Outside area, other | 10 | 9.2% | |
| 4 | Vehicle area, other | 8 | 7.3% | |
| 5 | Engine area, running gear, wheel area | 8 | 7.3% | |
| 6 | Cooking area, kitchen | 4 | 3.7% | |
| 7 | Storage area, other | 4 | 3.7% | |
| 8 | Wall surface: exterior | 3 | 2.8% | |
| 9 | Common room, den, family room, living room, lounge | 2 | 1.8% | |
| 10 | Function area, other | 2 | 1.8% | |
| 11 | All other areas | 17 | 15.6% |
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 Harrington mix.
| # | Heat source | Count | Share | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Undetermined | 65 | 59.6% | |
| 2 | Heat source: other | 12 | 11.0% | |
| 3 | Arcing | 6 | 5.5% | |
| 4 | Cigarette | 4 | 3.7% | |
| 5 | Heat from powered equipment, other | 3 | 2.8% | |
| 6 | Radiated, conducted heat from operating equipment | 3 | 2.8% | |
| 7 | Spark, ember or flame from operating equipment | 2 | 1.8% | |
| 8 | Hot or smoldering object, other | 2 | 1.8% | |
| 9 | Hot ember or ash | 2 | 1.8% | |
| 10 | Sunlight | 2 | 1.8% | |
| 11 | All other sources | 8 | 7.3% |
Largest single-incident property losses reported by Harrington 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 | $75,000 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
| 3 | $25,000 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
| 4 | $20,000 | Mobile property (vehicle) fire, other | Significant | Investigated |
| 5 | $15,000 | Passenger vehicle fire | Significant | Investigated |
| 6 | $10,000 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
| 7 | $5,000 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
| 8 | $1,000 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
Per-capita rates let us compare apples to apples. Harrington sits above the national average for incidents per resident.
Top 25 wildfires (1992+) in the FPA-FOD ignitions database, scaled by acres. 36,695 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 | 42.1 mi | |
| 2011 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 2,910 | 43.9 mi | |
| 2009 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 2,124 | 44.3 mi | |
| 2010 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 2,066 | 43.9 mi | |
| 1995 | Arson/incendiarism | 2,000 | 20.7 mi | |
| 2005 | Arson/incendiarism | 1,800 | 44.9 mi | |
| 2001 | Arson/incendiarism | 1,756 | 44.4 mi | |
| 2011 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 1,700 | 42.3 mi | |
| 2006 | Arson/incendiarism | 1,596 | 45.4 mi | |
| 2001 | Arson/incendiarism | 1,580 | 43.9 mi | |
| 2014 | Arson/incendiarism | 1,535 | 36.9 mi | |
| 2020 | Natural | 1,518 | 37.2 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 Harrington. Useful comparison targets — same state, similar size, different fire profile.
1 departments report to NFIRS for incidents in Harrington.
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.