In 2025, fire departments serving Jarrettsville responded to 65 fire and hazmat incidents . Here's the full picture.
Chimney or flue fire, confined to chimney or flue lead by count. Building fires lead by dollars. Together the top five categories make up about 56% of all calls.
May peaks. Oct dips. Watch for the typical fall climb starting in October.
295 incidents 2021–2025. Peak year was 2021. $270K cumulative property loss.
| Year | Incidents | YoY | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2021 | 67 | — | |
| 2022 | 66 | -1.5% | |
| 2023 | 50 | -24.2% | |
| 2024 | 47 | -6.0% | |
| 2025 | 65 | +38.3% |
For the 7 building fires Jarrettsville departments responded to in 2025, here's how they were classified once investigators were finished.
NFIRS Area of Origin (AREA_ORIG) for the 54 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 | Open area - outside; included are farmland, field | 10 | 18.5% | |
| 2 | Outside area, other | 9 | 16.7% | |
| 3 | Engine area, running gear, wheel area | 7 | 13.0% | |
| 4 | Exterior balcony, unenclosed porch | 5 | 9.3% | |
| 5 | Undetermined | 4 | 7.4% | |
| 6 | Vehicle storage area; garage, carport | 3 | 5.6% | |
| 7 | Ceiling & floor assembly, crawl space b/t stories | 3 | 5.6% | |
| 8 | Wildland, woods | 3 | 5.6% | |
| 9 | Other | 2 | 3.7% | |
| 10 | Cooking area, kitchen | 1 | 1.9% | |
| 11 | All other areas | 7 | 13.0% |
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 Jarrettsville mix.
| # | Heat source | Count | Share | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Undetermined | 16 | 29.6% | |
| 2 | Hot ember or ash | 7 | 13.0% | |
| 3 | Spark, ember or flame from operating equipment | 5 | 9.3% | |
| 4 | Arcing | 5 | 9.3% | |
| 5 | Flying brand, ember, spark | 5 | 9.3% | |
| 6 | Radiated, conducted heat from operating equipment | 3 | 5.6% | |
| 7 | Heat source: other | 2 | 3.7% | |
| 8 | Heat from powered equipment, other | 2 | 3.7% | |
| 9 | Cigarette lighter | 2 | 3.7% | |
| 10 | Hot or smoldering object, other | 1 | 1.9% | |
| 11 | All other sources | 6 | 11.1% |
Per-capita rates let us compare apples to apples. Jarrettsville sits above the national average for incidents per resident.
Top 25 wildfires (1992+) in the FPA-FOD ignitions database, scaled by acres. 2,226 acres burned in this 50-mile radius. Each dot is a fire — bigger dots burned more land.
| Year | Cause | Acres | Distance | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2001 | Arson/incendiarism | 522 | 28.8 mi | |
| 2011 | Recreation and ceremony | 500 | 42.0 mi | |
| 2003 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 408 | 43.2 mi | |
| 2001 | Arson/incendiarism | 100 | 43.2 mi | |
| 2008 | Debris and open burning | 75 | 23.5 mi | |
| 2006 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 59 | 35.5 mi | |
| 2015 | Debris and open burning | 55 | 42.6 mi | |
| 2012 | Arson/incendiarism | 48 | 49.9 mi | |
| 2011 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 48 | 41.7 mi | |
| 2011 | Smoking | 48 | 26.1 mi | |
| 2012 | Equipment and vehicle use | 39 | 39.6 mi | |
| 2014 | Arson/incendiarism | 35 | 48.0 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 Jarrettsville. 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.