In 2025, fire departments serving Snow Hill responded to 53 fire and hazmat incidents . 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.
Jan peaks. May dips. Watch for the typical fall climb starting in October.
275 incidents 2021–2025. Peak year was 2022. $10K cumulative property loss.
| Year | Incidents | YoY | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2021 | 33 | — | |
| 2022 | 68 | +106.1% | |
| 2023 | 61 | -10.3% | |
| 2024 | 60 | -1.6% | |
| 2025 | 53 | -11.7% |
For the 13 building fires Snow Hill departments responded to in 2025, here's how they were classified once investigators were finished.
NFIRS Area of Origin (AREA_ORIG) for the 81 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 | 42 | 51.9% | |
| 2 | Engine area, running gear, wheel area | 6 | 7.4% | |
| 3 | Open area - outside; included are farmland, field | 4 | 4.9% | |
| 4 | Storage room, area, tank, or bin | 3 | 3.7% | |
| 5 | Outside area, other | 3 | 3.7% | |
| 6 | Highway, parking lot, street: on or near | 3 | 3.7% | |
| 7 | Wildland, woods | 3 | 3.7% | |
| 8 | Other | 2 | 2.5% | |
| 9 | Vehicle area, other | 2 | 2.5% | |
| 10 | Function area, other | 1 | 1.2% | |
| 11 | All other areas | 12 | 14.8% |
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 Snow Hill mix.
| # | Heat source | Count | Share | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Undetermined | 58 | 71.6% | |
| 2 | Heat from powered equipment, other | 6 | 7.4% | |
| 3 | Hot or smoldering object, other | 4 | 4.9% | |
| 4 | Arcing | 3 | 3.7% | |
| 5 | Hot ember or ash | 2 | 2.5% | |
| 6 | Heat source: other | 1 | 1.2% | |
| 7 | Radiated, conducted heat from operating equipment | 1 | 1.2% | |
| 8 | Heat, spark from friction | 1 | 1.2% | |
| 9 | Heat from other open flame or smoking materials | 1 | 1.2% | |
| 10 | Cigarette | 1 | 1.2% | |
| 11 | All other sources | 3 | 3.7% |
Per-capita rates let us compare apples to apples. Snow Hill sits above the national average for incidents per resident.
Top 25 wildfires (1992+) in the FPA-FOD ignitions database, scaled by acres. 33,905 acres burned in this 50-mile radius. Each dot is a fire — bigger dots burned more land.
| Year | Cause | Acres | Distance | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2007 | Debris and open burning | 3,208 | 35.2 mi | |
| 2011 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 2,910 | 33.2 mi | |
| 2009 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 2,124 | 35.4 mi | |
| 2010 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 2,066 | 35.1 mi | |
| 2005 | Arson/incendiarism | 1,800 | 33.2 mi | |
| 2001 | Arson/incendiarism | 1,756 | 32.8 mi | |
| 2011 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 1,700 | 32.7 mi | |
| 2006 | Arson/incendiarism | 1,596 | 38.1 mi | |
| 2001 | Arson/incendiarism | 1,580 | 31.1 mi | |
| 2011 | Arson/incendiarism | 1,367 | 37.8 mi | |
| 2014 | Arson/incendiarism | 1,348 | 23.9 mi | |
| 2009 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 1,238 | 31.2 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 Snow Hill. Useful comparison targets — same state, similar size, different fire profile.
1 departments report to NFIRS for incidents in Snow Hill.
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.