In 2025, fire departments serving Westernport responded to 93 fire and hazmat incidents — from cooking fires to gas leaks to a single $225K building blaze. Here's the full picture.
Building fires lead by count. Building fires lead by dollars. Together the top five categories make up about 74% of all calls.
Jul peaks. Aug dips. Watch for the typical fall climb starting in October.
313 incidents 2021–2025. Peak year was 2025. $529K cumulative property loss.
| Year | Incidents | YoY | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2021 | 53 | — | |
| 2022 | 57 | +7.5% | |
| 2023 | 53 | -7.0% | |
| 2024 | 57 | +7.5% | |
| 2025 | 93 | +63.2% |
For the 37 building fires Westernport departments responded to in 2025, here's how they were classified once investigators were finished.
NFIRS Area of Origin (AREA_ORIG) for the 19 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 | 4 | 21.1% | |
| 2 | Cooking area, kitchen | 3 | 15.8% | |
| 3 | Common room, den, family room, living room, lounge | 2 | 10.5% | |
| 4 | Engine area, running gear, wheel area | 2 | 10.5% | |
| 5 | Other | 1 | 5.3% | |
| 6 | Storage area, other | 1 | 5.3% | |
| 7 | Vehicle storage area; garage, carport | 1 | 5.3% | |
| 8 | Attic: vacant, crawl space above top story, cupola | 1 | 5.3% | |
| 9 | Wall assembly | 1 | 5.3% | |
| 10 | Outside area, other | 1 | 5.3% | |
| 11 | All other areas | 2 | 10.5% |
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 Westernport mix.
| # | Heat source | Count | Share | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Undetermined | 11 | 57.9% | |
| 2 | Cigarette lighter | 2 | 10.5% | |
| 3 | Heat source: other | 1 | 5.3% | |
| 4 | Spark, ember or flame from operating equipment | 1 | 5.3% | |
| 5 | Arcing | 1 | 5.3% | |
| 6 | Hot or smoldering object, other | 1 | 5.3% | |
| 7 | Sunlight | 1 | 5.3% | |
| 8 | Radiated heat from another fire | 1 | 5.3% |
Largest single-incident property losses reported by Westernport departments in 2025. These 4 fires alone account for 100% of the city's annual total.
| # | Property loss | Type | Severity | Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | $225,000 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
| 2 | $200,000 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
| 3 | $25,000 | Mobile property (vehicle) fire, other | Significant | Investigated |
| 4 | $3,000 | Cooking fire, confined to container | Significant | Investigated |
Per-capita rates let us compare apples to apples. Westernport sits above the national average for incidents per resident.
6 fire-related casualties recorded in NFIRS Module 11 across the 2021–2025 window. Age, gender, and severity are coarse-binned — no individual identification possible.
| Age | Count | |
|---|---|---|
| 0-9 | 0 | |
| 10-19 | 2 | |
| 20-29 | 2 | |
| 30-39 | 2 | |
| 40-49 | 0 | |
| 50-59 | 0 | |
| 60-69 | 0 | |
| 70-79 | 0 | |
| 80+ | 0 |
Top 25 wildfires (1992+) in the FPA-FOD ignitions database, scaled by acres. 14,659 acres burned in this 50-mile radius. Each dot is a fire — bigger dots burned more land.
| Year | Cause | Acres | Distance | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | Natural | 2,743 | 42.7 mi | |
| 2001 | Equipment and vehicle use | 1,800 | 36.4 mi | |
| 2013 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 1,611 | 45.8 mi | |
| 2019 | Power generation/transmission/distribution | 1,289 | 47.7 mi | |
| 2014 | Arson/incendiarism | 888 | 32.0 mi | |
| 2012 | Recreation and ceremony | 755 | 43.3 mi | |
| 2005 | Railroad operations and maintenance | 755 | 27.8 mi | |
| 2010 | Debris and open burning | 610 | 34.6 mi | |
| 1994 | Arson/incendiarism | 546 | 40.3 mi | |
| 2008 | Railroad operations and maintenance | 480 | 27.7 mi | |
| 2001 | Smoking | 467 | 23.2 mi | |
| 2018 | Arson/incendiarism | 428 | 39.5 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 Westernport. Useful comparison targets — same state, similar size, different fire profile.
1 departments report to NFIRS for incidents in Westernport.
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.