In 2025, fire departments serving Thurmont responded to 129 fire and hazmat incidents — from cooking fires to gas leaks to a single $100K building blaze. Here's the full picture.
Power line down lead by count. Building fires lead by dollars. Together the top five categories make up about 64% of all calls.
Apr peaks. Jan dips. Watch for the typical fall climb starting in October.
606 incidents 2021–2025. Peak year was 2022. $3.0M cumulative property loss.
| Year | Incidents | YoY | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2021 | 108 | — | |
| 2022 | 136 | +25.9% | |
| 2023 | 103 | -24.3% | |
| 2024 | 130 | +26.2% | |
| 2025 | 129 | -0.8% |
For the 11 building fires Thurmont departments responded to in 2025, here's how they were classified once investigators were finished.
NFIRS Area of Origin (AREA_ORIG) for the 87 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 | 20 | 23.0% | |
| 2 | Engine area, running gear, wheel area | 12 | 13.8% | |
| 3 | Cooking area, kitchen | 8 | 9.2% | |
| 4 | Vehicle area, other | 6 | 6.9% | |
| 5 | Outside area, other | 6 | 6.9% | |
| 6 | Vehicle storage area; garage, carport | 4 | 4.6% | |
| 7 | Common room, den, family room, living room, lounge | 3 | 3.4% | |
| 8 | Laundry area, wash house (laundry) | 3 | 3.4% | |
| 9 | Storage area, other | 3 | 3.4% | |
| 10 | Storage: supplies or tools; dead storage | 2 | 2.3% | |
| 11 | All other areas | 20 | 23.0% |
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 Thurmont mix.
| # | Heat source | Count | Share | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Undetermined | 35 | 40.2% | |
| 2 | Heat from powered equipment, other | 11 | 12.6% | |
| 3 | Arcing | 7 | 8.0% | |
| 4 | Radiated, conducted heat from operating equipment | 6 | 6.9% | |
| 5 | Heat source: other | 5 | 5.7% | |
| 6 | Hot ember or ash | 5 | 5.7% | |
| 7 | Heat from other open flame or smoking materials | 4 | 4.6% | |
| 8 | Hot or smoldering object, other | 2 | 2.3% | |
| 9 | Cigarette | 2 | 2.3% | |
| 10 | Cigarette lighter | 2 | 2.3% | |
| 11 | All other sources | 8 | 9.2% |
Largest single-incident property losses reported by Thurmont departments in 2025. These 4 fires alone account for 100% of the city's annual total.
| # | Property loss | Type | Severity | Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | $100,000 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
| 2 | $13,000 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
| 3 | $5,000 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
| 4 | $1,000 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
Per-capita rates let us compare apples to apples. Thurmont sits above the national average for incidents per resident.
Top 25 wildfires (1992+) in the FPA-FOD ignitions database, scaled by acres. 3,819 acres burned in this 50-mile radius. Each dot is a fire — bigger dots burned more land.
| Year | Cause | Acres | Distance | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2001 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 1,000 | 29.3 mi | |
| 2011 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 461 | 34.3 mi | |
| 1996 | Recreation and ceremony | 405 | 41.2 mi | |
| 1996 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 400 | 42.2 mi | |
| 1996 | Arson/incendiarism | 350 | 44.2 mi | |
| 1995 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 150 | 44.5 mi | |
| 2012 | Arson/incendiarism | 145 | 32.3 mi | |
| 2006 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 105 | 40.8 mi | |
| 2018 | Debris and open burning | 76 | 27.6 mi | |
| 2016 | Arson/incendiarism | 72 | 41.3 mi | |
| 2016 | Recreation and ceremony | 58 | 40.8 mi | |
| 2015 | Debris and open burning | 55 | 28.8 mi |
Top 5 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 Thurmont. 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.