In 2025, fire departments serving Hebron responded to 24 fire and hazmat incidents — from cooking fires to gas leaks to a single $30K 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 67% of all calls.
May peaks. Nov dips. Watch for the typical fall climb starting in October.
190 incidents 2021–2025. Peak year was 2022. $863K cumulative property loss.
| Year | Incidents | YoY | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2021 | 46 | — | |
| 2022 | 57 | +23.9% | |
| 2023 | 30 | -47.4% | |
| 2024 | 33 | +10.0% | |
| 2025 | 24 | -27.3% |
For the 6 building fires Hebron departments responded to in 2025, here's how they were classified once investigators were finished.
NFIRS Area of Origin (AREA_ORIG) for the 36 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 | 8 | 22.2% | |
| 2 | Bedroom - < 5 persons; included are jail or prison | 4 | 11.1% | |
| 3 | Open area - outside; included are farmland, field | 4 | 11.1% | |
| 4 | Undetermined | 4 | 11.1% | |
| 5 | Cooking area, kitchen | 2 | 5.6% | |
| 6 | Substructure area or space, crawl space | 2 | 5.6% | |
| 7 | Wall surface: exterior | 2 | 5.6% | |
| 8 | Highway, parking lot, street: on or near | 2 | 5.6% | |
| 9 | Other | 1 | 2.8% | |
| 10 | Entrance way, lobby | 1 | 2.8% | |
| 11 | All other areas | 6 | 16.7% |
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 Hebron mix.
| # | Heat source | Count | Share | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Undetermined | 21 | 58.3% | |
| 2 | Radiated, conducted heat from operating equipment | 5 | 13.9% | |
| 3 | Hot ember or ash | 2 | 5.6% | |
| 4 | Match | 2 | 5.6% | |
| 5 | Arcing | 1 | 2.8% | |
| 6 | Molten, hot material | 1 | 2.8% | |
| 7 | Cigarette | 1 | 2.8% | |
| 8 | Lightning | 1 | 2.8% | |
| 9 | Heat from direct flame, convection currents | 1 | 2.8% | |
| 10 | Flying brand, ember, spark | 1 | 2.8% |
Largest single-incident property losses reported by Hebron departments in 2025. These 3 fires alone account for 100% of the city's annual total.
| # | Property loss | Type | Severity | Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | $30,000 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
| 2 | $6,000 | Mobile property (vehicle) fire, other | Significant | Investigated |
| 3 | $5,000 | Passenger vehicle fire | Significant | Investigated |
Per-capita rates let us compare apples to apples. Hebron sits above the national average for incidents per resident.
Top 25 wildfires (1992+) in the FPA-FOD ignitions database, scaled by acres. 34,504 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 | 15.5 mi | |
| 2011 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 2,910 | 15.0 mi | |
| 2009 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 2,124 | 16.8 mi | |
| 2010 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 2,066 | 16.4 mi | |
| 2005 | Arson/incendiarism | 1,800 | 15.6 mi | |
| 2001 | Arson/incendiarism | 1,756 | 15.0 mi | |
| 2011 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 1,700 | 13.6 mi | |
| 2006 | Arson/incendiarism | 1,596 | 19.4 mi | |
| 2001 | Arson/incendiarism | 1,580 | 13.4 mi | |
| 2011 | Arson/incendiarism | 1,367 | 19.5 mi | |
| 2014 | Arson/incendiarism | 1,348 | 35.0 mi | |
| 2002 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 1,250 | 39.3 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 Hebron. 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.