In 2025, fire departments serving Suitland responded to 199 fire and hazmat incidents — from cooking fires to gas leaks to a single $650K 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 71% of all calls.
Jun peaks. Aug dips. Watch for the typical fall climb starting in October.
1,459 incidents 2021–2025. Peak year was 2024. $7.5M cumulative property loss.
| Year | Incidents | YoY | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2021 | 307 | — | |
| 2022 | 314 | +2.3% | |
| 2023 | 295 | -6.1% | |
| 2024 | 344 | +16.6% | |
| 2025 | 199 | -42.2% |
For the 9 building fires Suitland departments responded to in 2025, here's how they were classified once investigators were finished.
NFIRS Area of Origin (AREA_ORIG) for the 318 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 | 79 | 24.8% | |
| 2 | Engine area, running gear, wheel area | 60 | 18.9% | |
| 3 | Vehicle area, other | 29 | 9.1% | |
| 4 | Cooking area, kitchen | 24 | 7.5% | |
| 5 | Outside area, other | 16 | 5.0% | |
| 6 | Common room, den, family room, living room, lounge | 11 | 3.5% | |
| 7 | Operator/passenger area of transportation equip. | 11 | 3.5% | |
| 8 | Bedroom - < 5 persons; included are jail or prison | 10 | 3.1% | |
| 9 | Cargo/trunk area - all vehicles | 10 | 3.1% | |
| 10 | Laundry area, wash house (laundry) | 9 | 2.8% | |
| 11 | All other areas | 59 | 18.6% |
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 Suitland mix.
| # | Heat source | Count | Share | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Undetermined | 223 | 70.1% | |
| 2 | Spark, ember or flame from operating equipment | 17 | 5.3% | |
| 3 | Arcing | 17 | 5.3% | |
| 4 | Radiated, conducted heat from operating equipment | 14 | 4.4% | |
| 5 | Heat source: other | 8 | 2.5% | |
| 6 | Heat, spark from friction | 7 | 2.2% | |
| 7 | Hot ember or ash | 7 | 2.2% | |
| 8 | Heat from powered equipment, other | 6 | 1.9% | |
| 9 | Hot or smoldering object, other | 6 | 1.9% | |
| 10 | Incendiary device | 2 | 0.6% | |
| 11 | All other sources | 11 | 3.5% |
Largest single-incident property losses reported by Suitland departments in 2025. These 8 fires alone account for 90% of the city's annual total.
| # | Property loss | Type | Severity | Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | $650,000 | Building fires | Major | Investigated |
| 2 | $100,000 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
| 3 | $45,000 | Passenger vehicle fire | Significant | Investigated |
| 4 | $30,000 | Passenger vehicle fire | Significant | Investigated |
| 5 | $20,000 | Passenger vehicle fire | Significant | Investigated |
| 6 | $20,000 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
| 7 | $20,000 | Passenger vehicle fire | Significant | Investigated |
| 8 | $20,000 | Passenger vehicle fire | Significant | Investigated |
Per-capita rates let us compare apples to apples. Suitland sits above the national average for incidents per resident.
Top 25 wildfires (1992+) in the FPA-FOD ignitions database, scaled by acres. 5,196 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 | 32.8 mi | |
| 2011 | Recreation and ceremony | 500 | 16.2 mi | |
| 2011 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 461 | 27.6 mi | |
| 2011 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 431 | 8.5 mi | |
| 2003 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 408 | 29.4 mi | |
| 2005 | Arson/incendiarism | 370 | 47.2 mi | |
| 2011 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 344 | 23.6 mi | |
| 2006 | Arson/incendiarism | 318 | 31.7 mi | |
| 1999 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 250 | 32.7 mi | |
| 1999 | Debris and open burning | 200 | 44.7 mi | |
| 2001 | Arson/incendiarism | 150 | 30.1 mi | |
| 2011 | Natural | 150 | 39.9 mi |
Top 9 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 Suitland. 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.