In 2025, fire departments serving Howard County responded to 1,128 fire and hazmat incidents — including a single $75K property loss.
Gas leak (natural gas or LPG) lead by count. Top five categories make up about 51% of all calls.
Jan peaks. Dec dips.
5,075 incidents from 2021 through 2025.
| Year | Incidents | |
|---|---|---|
| 2021 | 862 | |
| 2022 | 744 | |
| 2023 | 1,101 | |
| 2024 | 1,240 | |
| 2025 | 1,128 |
For the 50 building fires departments responded to in 2025, here's how investigators classified them.
Largest single-incident property losses in Howard County during 2025. These 10 fires alone account for 100% of the county's total.
| # | Property loss | City | Type | Severity |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | $75,000 | WOODBINE | Building fires | Significant |
| 2 | $60,000 | WOODBINE | Fire in motor home, camper, recreational vehicle | Significant |
| 3 | $20,000 | ELKRIDGE | Passenger vehicle fire | Significant |
| 4 | $20,000 | HANOVER | Passenger vehicle fire | Significant |
| 5 | $15,000 | Ellicott City | Passenger vehicle fire | Significant |
| 6 | $15,000 | HANOVER | Passenger vehicle fire | Significant |
| 7 | $15,000 | HANOVER | Building fires | Significant |
| 8 | $4,500 | HANOVER | Passenger vehicle fire | Significant |
| 9 | $3,000 | HANOVER | Building fires | Significant |
| 10 | $1,000 | ellicott city | Chimney or flue fire, confined to chimney or flue | Significant |
Per-capita rates let us compare apples to apples.
12 cities mapped to FIPS 24027.
12 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.