In 2025, fire departments serving Carroll County responded to 2,119 fire and hazmat incidents — including a single $669K property loss.
Building fires lead by count. Top five categories make up about 66% of all calls.
Feb peaks. Jun dips.
8,898 incidents from 2021 through 2025.
| Year | Incidents | |
|---|---|---|
| 2021 | 1,453 | |
| 2022 | 1,764 | |
| 2023 | 1,684 | |
| 2024 | 1,878 | |
| 2025 | 2,119 |
For the 530 building fires departments responded to in 2025, here's how investigators classified them.
Largest single-incident property losses in Carroll County during 2025. These 10 fires alone account for 68% of the county's total.
| # | Property loss | City | Type | Severity |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | $669,200 | SYKESVILLE | Building fires | Major |
| 2 | $500,000 | SYKESVILLE | Building fires | Major |
| 3 | $500,000 | SYKESVILLE | Building fires | Major |
| 4 | $500,000 | WESTMINSTER | Building fires | Major |
| 5 | $464,000 | Harney | Building fires | Major |
| 6 | $300,000 | WESTMINSTER | Building fires | Major |
| 7 | $250,000 | WESTMINSTER | Building fires | Major |
| 8 | $250,000 | WESTMINSTER | Fire in motor home, camper, recreational vehicle | Major |
| 9 | $250,000 | Union Bridge | Building fires | Major |
| 10 | $200,000 | HAMPSTEAD | Building fires | Significant |
Per-capita rates let us compare apples to apples.
12 cities mapped to FIPS 24013.
| City | Population | |
|---|---|---|
| Eldersburg | 30,357 | View › |
| Westminster | 20,099 | View › |
| Mount Airy | 9,667 | View › |
| Taneytown | 7,234 | View › |
| Hampstead | 6,278 | View › |
| Manchester | 5,403 | View › |
| Sykesville | 4,305 | View › |
| New Windsor | 1,304 | View › |
| Union Bridge | 939 | View › |
| Silver Run | 0 | View › |
| Bark Hill | 0 | View › |
| Dorceytown | 0 | View › |
15 departments report from this county.
Top 10 fire perimeters by acres burned (state-scoped fallback while we build out per-county polygons).
| # | Name | Year | Agency | Acres |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | MDBWR-FY19-RX-Mill Ditch | 2019 | FWS | 974 |
| 2 | MDMDS-FY19-RX-Thorofare | 2019 | State | 428 |
| 3 | MDMDFN-FY19-RX-Nassawango 87-88 | 2019 | PRI | 205 |
| 4 | MDBWR-FY19-RX-Shorters Wharf East | 2019 | FWS | 125 |
| 5 | MDBWR-FY19-RX-Unit F2 | 2019 | FWS | 113 |
| 6 | MDBWR-FY19-RX-Wolf Pit | 2019 | FWS | 111 |
| 7 | MDMDS-FY19-RX-Marshy Hope 1-1 | 2019 | State | 80 |
| 8 | MDBWR-FY19-RX-McGraws Island | 2019 | FWS | 77 |
| 9 | Otto Farm Rx | 2021 | NPS | 62 |
| 10 | MDPWR-FY19-RX-NT7 Range 1 | 2019 | FWS | 60 |
County-level NFIRS aggregates for 2025, plus 5-year totals across 2021–2025. NFIRS is voluntary — about 23,000 of roughly 30,000 US fire departments report — so totals are a strong indicator, not a complete census. Wildfire risk score (0–100) and Expected Annual Loss come from FEMA's National Risk Index. Drought class is the most recent USDM classification (D0 = abnormally dry through D4 = exceptional drought). Historical fire perimeters are sourced from the NIFC InterAgency Fire Perimeter History.