In 2025, fire departments serving Maryland responded to 16 fire and hazmat incidents . Here's the full picture.
Building fires lead by count. Building fires lead by dollars. Together the top five categories make up about 81% of all calls.
Mar peaks. Sep dips. Watch for the typical fall climb starting in October.
49 incidents 2021–2025. Peak year was 2025. $10K cumulative property loss.
| Year | Incidents | YoY | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2021* | 5 | — | |
| 2022 | 9 | — | |
| 2023 | 6 | -33.3% | |
| 2024 | 13 | +116.7% | |
| 2025 | 16 | +23.1% |
* Well below Maryland's usual volume. That almost always means one or more departments didn't submit a full year to NFIRS, not that fires dropped, so no year-over-year change is shown for it.
For the 4 building fires Maryland departments responded to in 2025, here's how they were classified once investigators were finished.
NFIRS Area of Origin (AREA_ORIG) for the 9 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 | Equipment or service area, other | 2 | 22.2% | |
| 2 | Exterior balcony, unenclosed porch | 2 | 22.2% | |
| 3 | Common room, den, family room, living room, lounge | 1 | 11.1% | |
| 4 | Cooking area, kitchen | 1 | 11.1% | |
| 5 | Chimney (conversion only) | 1 | 11.1% | |
| 6 | Substructure area or space, crawl space | 1 | 11.1% | |
| 7 | Undetermined | 1 | 11.1% |
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 Maryland mix.
| # | Heat source | Count | Share | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Heat source: other | 2 | 22.2% | |
| 2 | Undetermined | 2 | 22.2% | |
| 3 | Radiated, conducted heat from operating equipment | 1 | 11.1% | |
| 4 | Arcing | 1 | 11.1% | |
| 5 | Hot or smoldering object, other | 1 | 11.1% | |
| 6 | Hot ember or ash | 1 | 11.1% | |
| 7 | Candle | 1 | 11.1% |
Per-capita rates let us compare apples to apples. Maryland sits above the national average for incidents per resident.
Top 25 wildfires (1992+) in the FPA-FOD ignitions database, scaled by acres. 1,389 acres burned in this 50-mile radius. Each dot is a fire — bigger dots burned more land.
| Year | Cause | Acres | Distance | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1992 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 163 | 48.3 mi | |
| 2015 | Power generation/transmission/distribution | 146 | 42.5 mi | |
| 1992 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 140 | 36.5 mi | |
| 1993 | Equipment and vehicle use | 90 | 46.0 mi | |
| 1999 | Debris and open burning | 80 | 30.7 mi | |
| 2009 | Recreation and ceremony | 63 | 49.9 mi | |
| 2000 | Debris and open burning | 50 | 41.8 mi | |
| 2001 | Recreation and ceremony | 47 | 38.0 mi | |
| 2008 | Debris and open burning | 46 | 37.2 mi | |
| 1995 | Debris and open burning | 45 | 6.1 mi | |
| 1999 | Arson/incendiarism | 42 | 38.4 mi | |
| 1999 | Debris and open burning | 40 | 49.0 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 New York cities with population within ±25% of Maryland. 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.