In 2025, fire departments serving Waldorf responded to 707 fire and hazmat incidents — from cooking fires to gas leaks to a single $583K 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 65% of all calls.
Jan peaks. Apr dips. Watch for the typical fall climb starting in October.
3,931 incidents 2021–2025. Peak year was 2022. $6.8M cumulative property loss.
| Year | Incidents | YoY | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2021 | 660 | — | |
| 2022 | 919 | +39.2% | |
| 2023 | 898 | -2.3% | |
| 2024 | 747 | -16.8% | |
| 2025 | 707 | -5.4% |
For the 89 building fires Waldorf departments responded to in 2025, here's how they were classified once investigators were finished.
NFIRS Area of Origin (AREA_ORIG) for the 563 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 | 230 | 40.9% | |
| 2 | Other | 54 | 9.6% | |
| 3 | Outside area, other | 54 | 9.6% | |
| 4 | Engine area, running gear, wheel area | 37 | 6.6% | |
| 5 | Cooking area, kitchen | 28 | 5.0% | |
| 6 | Vehicle storage area; garage, carport | 20 | 3.6% | |
| 7 | Wildland, woods | 13 | 2.3% | |
| 8 | Bedroom - < 5 persons; included are jail or prison | 10 | 1.8% | |
| 9 | Vehicle area, other | 10 | 1.8% | |
| 10 | Structural area, other | 9 | 1.6% | |
| 11 | All other areas | 98 | 17.4% |
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 Waldorf mix.
| # | Heat source | Count | Share | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Undetermined | 404 | 71.8% | |
| 2 | Heat from powered equipment, other | 31 | 5.5% | |
| 3 | Hot or smoldering object, other | 26 | 4.6% | |
| 4 | Heat source: other | 21 | 3.7% | |
| 5 | Arcing | 11 | 2.0% | |
| 6 | Spark, ember or flame from operating equipment | 8 | 1.4% | |
| 7 | Hot ember or ash | 8 | 1.4% | |
| 8 | Heat from other open flame or smoking materials | 7 | 1.2% | |
| 9 | Lightning | 7 | 1.2% | |
| 10 | Cigarette | 5 | 0.9% | |
| 11 | All other sources | 35 | 6.2% |
Largest single-incident property losses reported by Waldorf departments in 2025. These 8 fires alone account for 86% of the city's annual total.
| # | Property loss | Type | Severity | Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | $583,000 | Building fires | Major | Investigated |
| 2 | $200,000 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
| 3 | $200,000 | Fires in structures other than in a building | Significant | Investigated |
| 4 | $150,000 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
| 5 | $100,000 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
| 6 | $100,000 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
| 7 | $100,000 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
| 8 | $80,000 | Fires in structures other than in a building | Significant | Investigated |
Per-capita rates let us compare apples to apples. Waldorf sits above the national average for incidents per resident.
Top 25 wildfires (1992+) in the FPA-FOD ignitions database, scaled by acres. 10,326 acres burned in this 50-mile radius. Each dot is a fire — bigger dots burned more land.
| Year | Cause | Acres | Distance | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2004 | Arson/incendiarism | 1,040 | 49.5 mi | |
| 2006 | Arson/incendiarism | 651 | 49.4 mi | |
| 1999 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 640 | 25.7 mi | |
| 2004 | Arson/incendiarism | 530 | 49.7 mi | |
| 2011 | Recreation and ceremony | 500 | 30.7 mi | |
| 2017 | Arson/incendiarism | 483 | 48.5 mi | |
| 2011 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 461 | 41.2 mi | |
| 2011 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 431 | 8.9 mi | |
| 1995 | Arson/incendiarism | 410 | 46.9 mi | |
| 2003 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 408 | 37.9 mi | |
| 2007 | Debris and open burning | 400 | 49.6 mi | |
| 2005 | Arson/incendiarism | 370 | 39.1 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 Waldorf. 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.