In 2025, fire departments serving Montgomery Village responded to 58 fire and hazmat incidents — from cooking fires to gas leaks to a single $105K building blaze. Here's the full picture.
Gas leak (natural gas or LPG) lead by count. Building fires lead by dollars. Together the top five categories make up about 71% of all calls.
Dec peaks. Oct dips. Watch for the typical fall climb starting in October.
319 incidents 2021–2025. Peak year was 2021. $2.0M cumulative property loss.
| Year | Incidents | YoY | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2021 | 75 | — | |
| 2022 | 51 | -32.0% | |
| 2023 | 75 | +47.1% | |
| 2024 | 60 | -20.0% | |
| 2025 | 58 | -3.3% |
For the 9 building fires Montgomery Village 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 | Outside area, other | 8 | 9.3% | |
| 3 | Bedroom - < 5 persons; included are jail or prison | 7 | 8.1% | |
| 4 | Engine area, running gear, wheel area | 6 | 7.0% | |
| 5 | Function area, other | 5 | 5.8% | |
| 6 | Undetermined | 5 | 5.8% | |
| 7 | Laundry area, wash house (laundry) | 3 | 3.5% | |
| 8 | Duct: hvac, cable, exhaust, heating, or AC | 3 | 3.5% | |
| 9 | Highway, parking lot, street: on or near | 3 | 3.5% | |
| 10 | Other | 2 | 2.3% | |
| 11 | All other areas | 29 | 33.7% |
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 Montgomery Village mix.
| # | Heat source | Count | Share | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Undetermined | 30 | 34.9% | |
| 2 | Heat from powered equipment, other | 11 | 12.8% | |
| 3 | Radiated, conducted heat from operating equipment | 9 | 10.5% | |
| 4 | Hot or smoldering object, other | 6 | 7.0% | |
| 5 | Arcing | 5 | 5.8% | |
| 6 | Heat source: other | 4 | 4.7% | |
| 7 | Heat from other open flame or smoking materials | 4 | 4.7% | |
| 8 | Cigarette | 4 | 4.7% | |
| 9 | Candle | 4 | 4.7% | |
| 10 | Hot ember or ash | 2 | 2.3% | |
| 11 | All other sources | 7 | 8.1% |
Largest single-incident property losses reported by Montgomery Village departments in 2025. These 8 fires alone account for 100% of the city's annual total.
| # | Property loss | Type | Severity | Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | $105,000 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
| 2 | $100,000 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
| 3 | $80,000 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
| 4 | $75,000 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
| 5 | $15,000 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
| 6 | $5,000 | Passenger vehicle fire | Significant | Investigated |
| 7 | $3,000 | Cooking fire, confined to container | Significant | Investigated |
| 8 | $2,500 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
Per-capita rates let us compare apples to apples. Montgomery Village sits below the national average for incidents per resident.
Top 25 wildfires (1992+) in the FPA-FOD ignitions database, scaled by acres. 5,215 acres burned in this 50-mile radius. Each dot is a fire — bigger dots burned more land.
| Year | Cause | Acres | Distance | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1999 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 640 | 45.0 mi | |
| 2011 | Recreation and ceremony | 500 | 27.3 mi | |
| 2011 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 461 | 5.6 mi | |
| 2011 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 431 | 33.2 mi | |
| 2003 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 408 | 44.7 mi | |
| 1996 | Recreation and ceremony | 405 | 34.7 mi | |
| 1996 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 400 | 35.3 mi | |
| 1996 | Arson/incendiarism | 350 | 37.1 mi | |
| 2006 | Arson/incendiarism | 318 | 41.7 mi | |
| 1999 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 250 | 42.8 mi | |
| 1995 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 150 | 43.1 mi | |
| 2006 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 105 | 35.4 mi |
Top 9 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 Montgomery Village. 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.