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2025 Annual Fire Report

Fires in Maugansville, Maryland

In 2025, fire departments serving Maugansville responded to 115 fire and hazmat incidents — from cooking fires to gas leaks to a single $350K building blaze. Here's the full picture.

Updated Sep 27, 2026 Grade C+ Peak yr 2025 Washington County 2,770 residents 0 reporting departments 317 5-yr
Total incidents
115
+69.1% vs 2024
Building fires
29
Residential 66% Other 34%
Property loss
$520K
$365K structure · $155K contents
Deaths & injuries
0 / 0
0 civilian deaths · 0 civ injuries · 0 firefighter injuries
01 The mix

What kinds of fires happen here?

Building fires lead by count. Building fires lead by dollars. Together the top five categories make up about 57% of all calls.

115
Total Incidents
Building fires 29 25.2%
Aircraft standby 16 13.9%
Road freight or transport vehicle fire 8 7.0%
Gasoline or other flammable liquid spill 7 6.1%
Passenger vehicle fire 6 5.2%
All other categories 49 42.6%
02 Seasonality

When do fires happen?

Apr peaks. Sep dips. Watch for the typical fall climb starting in October.

Jan 12
Feb 7
Mar 7
Apr 23
May 9
Jun 4
Jul 15
Aug 3
Sep 1
Oct 8
Nov 14
Dec 12
Fewer
More
2b Five-year trend

Year over year in Maugansville

317 incidents 2021–2025. Peak year was 2025. $378K cumulative property loss.

YearIncidentsYoY 
2021* 17 —
2022 46 —
2023 71 +54.3%
2024 68 -4.2%
2025 115 +69.1%

* Well below Maugansville'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.

03 Cause of ignition

What sparks building fires?

For the 29 building fires Maugansville departments responded to in 2025, here's how they were classified once investigators were finished.

Unintentional
33%
2
Cause undetermined
33%
2
Intentional / arson
17%
1
Equipment / heat source failure
17%
1
Under investigation
0%
0
Act of nature (lightning)
0%
0
3b Where fires start

Where do fires start in Maugansville?

NFIRS Area of Origin (AREA_ORIG) for the 18 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 originCountShare 
1 Undetermined 7 38.9%
2 Engine area, running gear, wheel area 3 16.7%
3 Other 2 11.1%
4 Chute/container - trash, rubbish, waste 2 11.1%
5 Attic: vacant, crawl space above top story, cupola 1 5.6%
6 Exterior, exposed surface 1 5.6%
7 Railroad right of way: on or near 1 5.6%
8 Highway, parking lot, street: on or near 1 5.6%
3c What ignited it

What actually ignited the fire?

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 Maugansville mix.

#Heat sourceCountShare 
1 Undetermined 12 66.7%
2 Heat from powered equipment, other 2 11.1%
3 Spark, ember or flame from operating equipment 1 5.6%
4 Arcing 1 5.6%
5 Chemical, natural heat source, other 1 5.6%
6 Flying brand, ember, spark 1 5.6%
04 The biggest fires

3 fires · $365K in losses

Largest single-incident property losses reported by Maugansville departments in 2025. These 3 fires alone account for 100% of the city's annual total.

# Property loss Type Severity Status
1 $350,000 Building fires Major Investigated
2 $10,000 Road freight or transport vehicle fire Significant Investigated
3 $5,000 Chimney or flue fire, confined to chimney or flue Significant Investigated
05 How Maugansville compares

Maugansville vs Maryland vs the nation

Per-capita rates let us compare apples to apples. Maugansville sits above the national average for incidents per resident.

41.52
Incidents per 1,000 residents
Maugansville
41.52
MD avg
8.27
US avg
7.48
10.47
Building fires per 1,000 residents
Maugansville
10.47
MD avg
1.06
US avg
0.85
0
Civilian fire deaths per million
Maugansville
0
MD avg
2.7
US avg
5.9
5c Wildfires nearby

Wildfires within 50 mi of Maugansville

Top 25 wildfires (1992+) in the FPA-FOD ignitions database, scaled by acres. 5,297 acres burned in this 50-mile radius. Each dot is a fire — bigger dots burned more land.

50 mi radius
YearCauseAcresDistance 
2001 Missing data/not specified/undetermined 1,000 10.7 mi
2014 Arson/incendiarism 888 49.9 mi
2011 Missing data/not specified/undetermined 461 46.0 mi
1996 Recreation and ceremony 405 39.4 mi
1996 Missing data/not specified/undetermined 400 40.4 mi
1996 Arson/incendiarism 350 41.9 mi
2016 Arson/incendiarism 345 37.8 mi
2000 Natural 300 44.4 mi
1995 Missing data/not specified/undetermined 150 38.8 mi
2012 Arson/incendiarism 145 13.9 mi
2006 Missing data/not specified/undetermined 105 38.6 mi
2018 Debris and open burning 76 35.5 mi
5d Top ZIPs

Where in Maugansville do fires concentrate?

Top 2 ZIP codes by NFIRS incident count across 2021–2025. Each ZIP has its own fire profile — dive in for neighborhood-level context.

#ZIP5-yr incidents 
1 21767 316
2 21740 1
5e Peer cities

Cities similar to Maugansville

Six Maryland cities with population within ±25% of Maugansville. Useful comparison targets — same state, similar size, different fire profile.

07 Stay prepared

Before the next Red Flag day.

A 30-minute weekend can cut your home's exposure substantially. These four checklists are a good starting point.

About this data

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.