In 2025, fire departments serving Hockessin responded to 143 fire and hazmat incidents — from cooking fires to gas leaks to a single $10K 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 76% of all calls.
Jul peaks. Dec dips. Watch for the typical fall climb starting in October.
726 incidents 2021–2025. Peak year was 2024. $344K cumulative property loss.
| Year | Incidents | YoY | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2021 | 140 | — | |
| 2022 | 137 | -2.1% | |
| 2023 | 110 | -19.7% | |
| 2024 | 196 | +78.2% | |
| 2025 | 143 | -27.0% |
For the 59 building fires Hockessin departments responded to in 2025, here's how they were classified once investigators were finished.
NFIRS Area of Origin (AREA_ORIG) for the 86 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 | Cooking area, kitchen | 15 | 17.4% | |
| 2 | Open area - outside; included are farmland, field | 15 | 17.4% | |
| 3 | Wildland, woods | 11 | 12.8% | |
| 4 | Undetermined | 8 | 9.3% | |
| 5 | Outside area, other | 5 | 5.8% | |
| 6 | Function area, other | 4 | 4.7% | |
| 7 | Heating room or area, water heater area | 4 | 4.7% | |
| 8 | Vehicle area, other | 4 | 4.7% | |
| 9 | Bedroom - < 5 persons; included are jail or prison | 3 | 3.5% | |
| 10 | Engine area, running gear, wheel area | 3 | 3.5% | |
| 11 | All other areas | 14 | 16.3% |
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 Hockessin mix.
| # | Heat source | Count | Share | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Undetermined | 39 | 45.3% | |
| 2 | Radiated, conducted heat from operating equipment | 8 | 9.3% | |
| 3 | Arcing | 7 | 8.1% | |
| 4 | Heat from powered equipment, other | 6 | 7.0% | |
| 5 | Spark, ember or flame from operating equipment | 6 | 7.0% | |
| 6 | Cigarette lighter | 5 | 5.8% | |
| 7 | Heat source: other | 3 | 3.5% | |
| 8 | Hot or smoldering object, other | 2 | 2.3% | |
| 9 | Lightning | 2 | 2.3% | |
| 10 | Heat, spark from friction | 1 | 1.2% | |
| 11 | All other sources | 7 | 8.1% |
Largest single-incident property losses reported by Hockessin departments in 2025. These 1 fires alone account for 100% of the city's annual total.
| # | Property loss | Type | Severity | Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | $10,000 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
Per-capita rates let us compare apples to apples. Hockessin sits above the national average for incidents per resident.
Top 25 wildfires (1992+) in the FPA-FOD ignitions database, scaled by acres. 17,383 acres burned in this 50-mile radius. Each dot is a fire — bigger dots burned more land.
| Year | Cause | Acres | Distance | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2020 | Arson/incendiarism | 2,107 | 42.9 mi | |
| 1995 | Arson/incendiarism | 2,000 | 42.7 mi | |
| 2008 | Arson/incendiarism | 1,950 | 48.8 mi | |
| 2014 | Arson/incendiarism | 1,535 | 44.0 mi | |
| 2020 | Natural | 1,518 | 45.3 mi | |
| 2014 | Arson/incendiarism | 910 | 46.9 mi | |
| 2001 | Arson/incendiarism | 765 | 44.1 mi | |
| 2012 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 741 | 30.0 mi | |
| 2002 | Arson/incendiarism | 740 | 47.0 mi | |
| 2014 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 569 | 39.8 mi | |
| 2001 | Arson/incendiarism | 522 | 38.0 mi | |
| 1999 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 500 | 41.6 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 Delaware cities with population within ±25% of Hockessin. Useful comparison targets — same state, similar size, different fire profile.
1 departments report to NFIRS for incidents in Hockessin.
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.