In 2025, fire departments serving Takoma Park responded to 164 fire and hazmat incidents — from cooking fires to gas leaks to a single $150K 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.
Jul peaks. Dec dips. Watch for the typical fall climb starting in October.
833 incidents 2021–2025. Peak year was 2023. $1.2M cumulative property loss.
| Year | Incidents | YoY | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2021 | 142 | — | |
| 2022 | 173 | +21.8% | |
| 2023 | 180 | +4.0% | |
| 2024 | 174 | -3.3% | |
| 2025 | 164 | -5.7% |
For the 11 building fires Takoma Park departments responded to in 2025, here's how they were classified once investigators were finished.
NFIRS Area of Origin (AREA_ORIG) for the 135 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 | 29 | 21.5% | |
| 2 | Outside area, other | 14 | 10.4% | |
| 3 | Other | 13 | 9.6% | |
| 4 | Undetermined | 10 | 7.4% | |
| 5 | Chute/container - trash, rubbish, waste | 9 | 6.7% | |
| 6 | Function area, other | 7 | 5.2% | |
| 7 | Engine area, running gear, wheel area | 7 | 5.2% | |
| 8 | Bedroom - < 5 persons; included are jail or prison | 4 | 3.0% | |
| 9 | Vehicle area, other | 4 | 3.0% | |
| 10 | Highway, parking lot, street: on or near | 4 | 3.0% | |
| 11 | All other areas | 34 | 25.2% |
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 Takoma Park mix.
| # | Heat source | Count | Share | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Undetermined | 64 | 47.4% | |
| 2 | Heat from powered equipment, other | 16 | 11.9% | |
| 3 | Radiated, conducted heat from operating equipment | 9 | 6.7% | |
| 4 | Arcing | 8 | 5.9% | |
| 5 | Spark, ember or flame from operating equipment | 7 | 5.2% | |
| 6 | Hot or smoldering object, other | 7 | 5.2% | |
| 7 | Heat source: other | 5 | 3.7% | |
| 8 | Hot ember or ash | 5 | 3.7% | |
| 9 | Heat from direct flame, convection currents | 3 | 2.2% | |
| 10 | Heat, spark from friction | 2 | 1.5% | |
| 11 | All other sources | 9 | 6.7% |
Largest single-incident property losses reported by Takoma Park departments in 2025. These 8 fires alone account for 100% of the city's annual total.
| # | Property loss | Type | Severity | Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | $150,000 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
| 2 | $80,000 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
| 3 | $25,000 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
| 4 | $5,000 | Passenger vehicle fire | Significant | Investigated |
| 5 | $5,000 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
| 6 | $5,000 | Passenger vehicle fire | Significant | Investigated |
| 7 | $2,000 | Passenger vehicle fire | Significant | Investigated |
| 8 | $2,000 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
Per-capita rates let us compare apples to apples. Takoma Park sits above the national average for incidents per resident.
Top 25 wildfires (1992+) in the FPA-FOD ignitions database, scaled by acres. 5,782 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 | 36.6 mi | |
| 2011 | Recreation and ceremony | 500 | 15.2 mi | |
| 2011 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 461 | 18.4 mi | |
| 2011 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 431 | 17.4 mi | |
| 2003 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 408 | 32.2 mi | |
| 1996 | Recreation and ceremony | 405 | 46.0 mi | |
| 1996 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 400 | 46.4 mi | |
| 1996 | Arson/incendiarism | 350 | 47.7 mi | |
| 2011 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 344 | 33.7 mi | |
| 2006 | Arson/incendiarism | 318 | 34.5 mi | |
| 1999 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 250 | 35.6 mi | |
| 1999 | Debris and open burning | 200 | 47.1 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 Takoma Park. 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.