In 2025, fire departments serving Mount Airy responded to 180 fire and hazmat incidents — from cooking fires to gas leaks to a single $100K building blaze. Here's the full picture.
Power line down lead by count. Building fires lead by dollars. Together the top five categories make up about 63% of all calls.
Mar peaks. Jun dips. Watch for the typical fall climb starting in October.
727 incidents 2021–2025. Peak year was 2025. $1.0M cumulative property loss. 1 civilian deaths.
| Year | Incidents | YoY | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2021 | 159 | — | |
| 2022 | 139 | -12.6% | |
| 2023 | 111 | -20.1% | |
| 2024 | 138 | +24.3% | |
| 2025 | 180 | +30.4% |
For the 24 building fires Mount Airy departments responded to in 2025, here's how they were classified once investigators were finished.
NFIRS Area of Origin (AREA_ORIG) for the 197 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 | Outside area, other | 38 | 19.3% | |
| 2 | Engine area, running gear, wheel area | 25 | 12.7% | |
| 3 | Undetermined | 19 | 9.6% | |
| 4 | Other | 13 | 6.6% | |
| 5 | Cooking area, kitchen | 13 | 6.6% | |
| 6 | Open area - outside; included are farmland, field | 11 | 5.6% | |
| 7 | Vehicle area, other | 8 | 4.1% | |
| 8 | Structural area, other | 7 | 3.6% | |
| 9 | Wildland, woods | 7 | 3.6% | |
| 10 | Highway, parking lot, street: on or near | 5 | 2.5% | |
| 11 | All other areas | 51 | 25.9% |
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 Mount Airy mix.
| # | Heat source | Count | Share | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Undetermined | 83 | 42.1% | |
| 2 | Heat source: other | 20 | 10.2% | |
| 3 | Hot ember or ash | 18 | 9.1% | |
| 4 | Heat from powered equipment, other | 12 | 6.1% | |
| 5 | Spark, ember or flame from operating equipment | 9 | 4.6% | |
| 6 | Arcing | 9 | 4.6% | |
| 7 | Hot or smoldering object, other | 9 | 4.6% | |
| 8 | Radiated, conducted heat from operating equipment | 8 | 4.1% | |
| 9 | Cigarette lighter | 5 | 2.5% | |
| 10 | Match | 4 | 2.0% | |
| 11 | All other sources | 20 | 10.2% |
Largest single-incident property losses reported by Mount Airy departments in 2025. These 5 fires alone account for 100% of the city's annual total.
| # | Property loss | Type | Severity | Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | $100,000 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
| 2 | $50,000 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
| 3 | $10,000 | Passenger vehicle fire | Significant | Investigated |
| 4 | $5,000 | Off-road vehicle or heavy equipment fire | Significant | Investigated |
| 5 | $1 | Passenger vehicle fire | Significant | Investigated |
Per-capita rates let us compare apples to apples. Mount Airy sits above the national average for incidents per resident.
Top 25 wildfires (1992+) in the FPA-FOD ignitions database, scaled by acres. 4,975 acres burned in this 50-mile radius. Each dot is a fire — bigger dots burned more land.
| Year | Cause | Acres | Distance | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2001 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 1,000 | 48.1 mi | |
| 2011 | Recreation and ceremony | 500 | 33.2 mi | |
| 2011 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 461 | 18.0 mi | |
| 2011 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 431 | 45.5 mi | |
| 2003 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 408 | 48.5 mi | |
| 1996 | Recreation and ceremony | 405 | 40.5 mi | |
| 1996 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 400 | 41.3 mi | |
| 1996 | Arson/incendiarism | 350 | 43.3 mi | |
| 1995 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 150 | 47.5 mi | |
| 2006 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 105 | 40.8 mi | |
| 2001 | Arson/incendiarism | 100 | 48.5 mi | |
| 2018 | Debris and open burning | 76 | 20.1 mi |
Top 4 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 Mount Airy. 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.