In 2025, fire departments serving Olney responded to 79 fire and hazmat incidents — from cooking fires to gas leaks to a single $250K 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 59% of all calls.
Feb peaks. Nov dips. Watch for the typical fall climb starting in October.
357 incidents 2021–2025. Peak year was 2022. $1.1M cumulative property loss.
| Year | Incidents | YoY | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2021 | 57 | — | |
| 2022 | 87 | +52.6% | |
| 2023 | 73 | -16.1% | |
| 2024 | 61 | -16.4% | |
| 2025 | 79 | +29.5% |
For the 3 building fires Olney departments responded to in 2025, here's how they were classified once investigators were finished.
NFIRS Area of Origin (AREA_ORIG) for the 73 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 | 16 | 21.9% | |
| 2 | Outside area, other | 8 | 11.0% | |
| 3 | Wildland, woods | 8 | 11.0% | |
| 4 | Other | 5 | 6.8% | |
| 5 | Open area - outside; included are farmland, field | 5 | 6.8% | |
| 6 | Storage area, other | 4 | 5.5% | |
| 7 | Engine area, running gear, wheel area | 4 | 5.5% | |
| 8 | Function area, other | 3 | 4.1% | |
| 9 | Chute/container - trash, rubbish, waste | 3 | 4.1% | |
| 10 | Duct: hvac, cable, exhaust, heating, or AC | 2 | 2.7% | |
| 11 | All other areas | 15 | 20.5% |
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 Olney mix.
| # | Heat source | Count | Share | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Undetermined | 25 | 34.2% | |
| 2 | Arcing | 10 | 13.7% | |
| 3 | Heat from powered equipment, other | 6 | 8.2% | |
| 4 | Radiated, conducted heat from operating equipment | 6 | 8.2% | |
| 5 | Hot or smoldering object, other | 4 | 5.5% | |
| 6 | Hot ember or ash | 4 | 5.5% | |
| 7 | Heat from direct flame, convection currents | 4 | 5.5% | |
| 8 | Heat source: other | 2 | 2.7% | |
| 9 | Spark, ember or flame from operating equipment | 2 | 2.7% | |
| 10 | Heat from other open flame or smoking materials | 2 | 2.7% | |
| 11 | All other sources | 8 | 11.0% |
Largest single-incident property losses reported by Olney departments in 2025. These 6 fires alone account for 100% of the city's annual total.
| # | Property loss | Type | Severity | Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | $250,000 | Building fires | Major | Investigated |
| 2 | $50,000 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
| 3 | $10,000 | Passenger vehicle fire | Significant | Investigated |
| 4 | $5,000 | Passenger vehicle fire | Significant | Investigated |
| 5 | $500 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
| 6 | $100 | Cooking fire, confined to container | Significant | Investigated |
Per-capita rates let us compare apples to apples. Olney sits below the national average for incidents per resident.
Top 25 wildfires (1992+) in the FPA-FOD ignitions database, scaled by acres. 5,445 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 | 20.3 mi | |
| 2011 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 461 | 11.4 mi | |
| 2011 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 431 | 29.2 mi | |
| 2003 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 408 | 37.7 mi | |
| 1996 | Recreation and ceremony | 405 | 41.2 mi | |
| 1996 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 400 | 41.8 mi | |
| 1996 | Arson/incendiarism | 350 | 43.4 mi | |
| 2011 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 344 | 45.5 mi | |
| 2006 | Arson/incendiarism | 318 | 42.1 mi | |
| 1999 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 250 | 43.2 mi | |
| 1995 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 150 | 49.7 mi |
Top 7 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 Olney. 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.