In 2025, fire departments serving North East responded to 237 fire and hazmat incidents — from cooking fires to gas leaks to a single $306K 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 65% of all calls.
Feb peaks. Sep dips. Watch for the typical fall climb starting in October.
892 incidents 2021–2025. Peak year was 2024. $2.7M cumulative property loss.
| Year | Incidents | YoY | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2021 | 109 | — | |
| 2022* | 103 | — | |
| 2023 | 177 | — | |
| 2024 | 266 | +50.3% | |
| 2025 | 237 | -10.9% |
* Well below North East'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 46 building fires North East departments responded to in 2025, here's how they were classified once investigators were finished.
NFIRS Area of Origin (AREA_ORIG) for the 115 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 | 44 | 38.3% | |
| 2 | Engine area, running gear, wheel area | 17 | 14.8% | |
| 3 | Outside area, other | 11 | 9.6% | |
| 4 | Other | 7 | 6.1% | |
| 5 | Function area, other | 7 | 6.1% | |
| 6 | Cooking area, kitchen | 5 | 4.3% | |
| 7 | Vehicle area, other | 5 | 4.3% | |
| 8 | Vehicle storage area; garage, carport | 3 | 2.6% | |
| 9 | Cargo/trunk area - all vehicles | 2 | 1.7% | |
| 10 | Entrance way, lobby | 1 | 0.9% | |
| 11 | All other areas | 13 | 11.3% |
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 East mix.
| # | Heat source | Count | Share | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Undetermined | 82 | 71.3% | |
| 2 | Hot or smoldering object, other | 11 | 9.6% | |
| 3 | Heat from powered equipment, other | 5 | 4.3% | |
| 4 | Spark, ember or flame from operating equipment | 4 | 3.5% | |
| 5 | Radiated, conducted heat from operating equipment | 4 | 3.5% | |
| 6 | Arcing | 1 | 0.9% | |
| 7 | Fireworks | 1 | 0.9% | |
| 8 | Heat from other open flame or smoking materials | 1 | 0.9% | |
| 9 | Cigarette | 1 | 0.9% | |
| 10 | Match | 1 | 0.9% | |
| 11 | All other sources | 4 | 3.5% |
Largest single-incident property losses reported by North East departments in 2025. These 8 fires alone account for 96% of the city's annual total.
| # | Property loss | Type | Severity | Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | $306,000 | Building fires | Major | Investigated |
| 2 | $200,000 | Road freight or transport vehicle fire | Significant | Investigated |
| 3 | $100,000 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
| 4 | $25,000 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
| 5 | $20,000 | Outside rubbish fire, other | Significant | Investigated |
| 6 | $15,000 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
| 7 | $15,000 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
| 8 | $10,000 | Camper or recreational vehicle (RV) fire | Significant | Investigated |
Per-capita rates let us compare apples to apples. North East sits above the national average for incidents per resident.
Top 25 wildfires (1992+) in the FPA-FOD ignitions database, scaled by acres. 10,365 acres burned in this 50-mile radius. Each dot is a fire — bigger dots burned more land.
| Year | Cause | Acres | Distance | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1995 | Arson/incendiarism | 2,000 | 39.6 mi | |
| 2014 | Arson/incendiarism | 1,535 | 48.5 mi | |
| 2020 | Natural | 1,518 | 49.8 mi | |
| 2001 | Arson/incendiarism | 765 | 49.8 mi | |
| 2012 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 741 | 42.9 mi | |
| 2001 | Arson/incendiarism | 522 | 20.8 mi | |
| 1999 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 500 | 38.9 mi | |
| 2006 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 470 | 29.0 mi | |
| 2003 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 408 | 49.9 mi | |
| 2005 | Arson/incendiarism | 273 | 39.1 mi | |
| 1992 | Arson/incendiarism | 250 | 24.4 mi | |
| 2003 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 200 | 42.7 mi |
Top 10 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 North East. Useful comparison targets — same state, similar size, different fire profile.
1 departments report to NFIRS for incidents in North East.
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.