In 2025, fire departments serving North Baltimore responded to 49 fire and hazmat incidents — from cooking fires to gas leaks to a single $10K building blaze. Here's the full picture.
Building fires lead by count. Building fires lead by dollars. Together the top five categories make up about 51% of all calls.
Jul peaks. Jan dips. Watch for the typical fall climb starting in October.
260 incidents 2021–2025. Peak year was 2023. $697K cumulative property loss.
| Year | Incidents | YoY | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2021 | 37 | — | |
| 2022 | 45 | +21.6% | |
| 2023 | 79 | +75.6% | |
| 2024 | 50 | -36.7% | |
| 2025 | 49 | -2.0% |
For the 8 building fires North Baltimore departments responded to in 2025, here's how they were classified once investigators were finished.
NFIRS Area of Origin (AREA_ORIG) for the 87 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 | Undetermined | 20 | 23.0% | |
| 2 | Other | 16 | 18.4% | |
| 3 | Engine area, running gear, wheel area | 10 | 11.5% | |
| 4 | Outside area, other | 8 | 9.2% | |
| 5 | Cooking area, kitchen | 4 | 4.6% | |
| 6 | Equipment or service area, other | 4 | 4.6% | |
| 7 | Processing/manufacturing area, workroom | 2 | 2.3% | |
| 8 | Ceiling & floor assembly, crawl space b/t stories | 2 | 2.3% | |
| 9 | Vehicle area, other | 2 | 2.3% | |
| 10 | Exterior, exposed surface | 2 | 2.3% | |
| 11 | All other areas | 17 | 19.5% |
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 North Baltimore mix.
| # | Heat source | Count | Share | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Undetermined | 44 | 50.6% | |
| 2 | Heat from powered equipment, other | 11 | 12.6% | |
| 3 | Heat source: other | 9 | 10.3% | |
| 4 | Arcing | 5 | 5.7% | |
| 5 | Hot ember or ash | 4 | 4.6% | |
| 6 | Multiple heat sources including multiple ignitions | 4 | 4.6% | |
| 7 | Spark, ember or flame from operating equipment | 2 | 2.3% | |
| 8 | Hot or smoldering object, other | 2 | 2.3% | |
| 9 | Radiated, conducted heat from operating equipment | 1 | 1.1% | |
| 10 | Heat, spark from friction | 1 | 1.1% | |
| 11 | All other sources | 4 | 4.6% |
Largest single-incident property losses reported by North Baltimore departments in 2025. These 3 fires alone account for 100% of the city's annual total.
| # | Property loss | Type | Severity | Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | $10,000 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
| 2 | $8,000 | Camper or recreational vehicle (RV) fire | Significant | Investigated |
| 3 | $7,500 | Passenger vehicle fire | Significant | Investigated |
Per-capita rates let us compare apples to apples. North Baltimore sits above the national average for incidents per resident.
Top 12 wildfires (1992+) in the FPA-FOD ignitions database, scaled by acres. 568 acres burned in this 50-mile radius. Each dot is a fire — bigger dots burned more land.
| Year | Cause | Acres | Distance | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2005 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 332 | 42.2 mi | |
| 2010 | Arson/incendiarism | 69 | 40.2 mi | |
| 2019 | Debris and open burning | 58 | 24.2 mi | |
| 2017 | Debris and open burning | 22 | 31.3 mi | |
| 2011 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 16 | 41.4 mi | |
| 2015 | Debris and open burning | 11 | 29.4 mi | |
| 2019 | Debris and open burning | 10 | 24.3 mi | |
| 2013 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 10 | 36.7 mi | |
| 2015 | Debris and open burning | 10 | 26.6 mi | |
| 2016 | Debris and open burning | 10 | 29.6 mi | |
| 2018 | Equipment and vehicle use | 10 | 40.8 mi | |
| 2019 | Equipment and vehicle use | 10 | 42.6 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 Ohio cities with population within ±25% of North Baltimore. 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.