In 2025, fire departments serving Rock Hall responded to 64 fire and hazmat incidents — from cooking fires to gas leaks to a single $200K 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 83% of all calls.
Mar peaks. Sep dips. Watch for the typical fall climb starting in October.
218 incidents 2021–2025. Peak year was 2025. $250K cumulative property loss.
| Year | Incidents | YoY | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2021 | 33 | — | |
| 2022 | 41 | +24.2% | |
| 2023 | 36 | -12.2% | |
| 2024 | 44 | +22.2% | |
| 2025 | 64 | +45.5% |
For the 35 building fires Rock Hall departments responded to in 2025, here's how they were classified once investigators were finished.
NFIRS Area of Origin (AREA_ORIG) for the 50 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 | 10 | 20.0% | |
| 2 | Outside area, other | 8 | 16.0% | |
| 3 | Open area - outside; included are farmland, field | 6 | 12.0% | |
| 4 | Cooking area, kitchen | 4 | 8.0% | |
| 5 | Other | 3 | 6.0% | |
| 6 | Structural area, other | 3 | 6.0% | |
| 7 | Laundry area, wash house (laundry) | 2 | 4.0% | |
| 8 | Common room, den, family room, living room, lounge | 1 | 2.0% | |
| 9 | Storage area, other | 1 | 2.0% | |
| 10 | Storage: supplies or tools; dead storage | 1 | 2.0% | |
| 11 | All other areas | 11 | 22.0% |
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 Rock Hall mix.
| # | Heat source | Count | Share | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Undetermined | 26 | 52.0% | |
| 2 | Heat source: other | 6 | 12.0% | |
| 3 | Hot ember or ash | 6 | 12.0% | |
| 4 | Hot or smoldering object, other | 3 | 6.0% | |
| 5 | Heat from other open flame or smoking materials | 3 | 6.0% | |
| 6 | Heat from powered equipment, other | 2 | 4.0% | |
| 7 | Spark, ember or flame from operating equipment | 2 | 4.0% | |
| 8 | Arcing | 2 | 4.0% |
Largest single-incident property losses reported by Rock Hall departments in 2025. These 2 fires alone account for 100% of the city's annual total.
| # | Property loss | Type | Severity | Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | $200,000 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
| 2 | $50,000 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
Per-capita rates let us compare apples to apples. Rock Hall sits above the national average for incidents per resident.
Top 25 wildfires (1992+) in the FPA-FOD ignitions database, scaled by acres. 7,348 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 | 44.2 mi | |
| 2001 | Arson/incendiarism | 522 | 15.7 mi | |
| 2011 | Recreation and ceremony | 500 | 27.1 mi | |
| 1999 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 500 | 44.6 mi | |
| 2011 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 431 | 48.1 mi | |
| 2003 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 408 | 13.9 mi | |
| 2005 | Arson/incendiarism | 370 | 49.1 mi | |
| 1995 | Arson/incendiarism | 360 | 49.4 mi | |
| 2011 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 344 | 47.7 mi | |
| 1992 | Arson/incendiarism | 250 | 48.0 mi | |
| 2003 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 200 | 44.1 mi | |
| 1995 | Arson/incendiarism | 180 | 49.6 mi |
Top 3 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 Rock Hall. 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.