In 2025, fire departments serving New Castle County responded to 7,158 fire and hazmat incidents — including a single $500K property loss. FEMA NRI rates wildfire risk here as High.
Building fires lead by count. Top five categories make up about 67% of all calls.
Mar peaks. Dec dips.
36,110 incidents from 2021 through 2025.
| Year | Incidents | |
|---|---|---|
| 2021 | 6,309 | |
| 2022 | 6,701 | |
| 2023 | 7,629 | |
| 2024 | 8,313 | |
| 2025 | 7,158 |
For the 1,920 building fires departments responded to in 2025, here's how investigators classified them.
Largest single-incident property losses in New Castle County during 2025. These 10 fires alone account for 75% of the county's total.
| # | Property loss | City | Type | Severity |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | $500,000 | Wilmington | Building fires | Major |
| 2 | $350,000 | Wilmington | Building fires | Major |
| 3 | $250,000 | New Castle | Building fires | Major |
| 4 | $200,000 | Wilmington | Building fires | Significant |
| 5 | $150,000 | BEAR | Fire in mobile home used as fixed residence | Significant |
| 6 | $150,000 | NEW CASTLE | Building fires | Significant |
| 7 | $100,000 | Wilmington | Building fires | Significant |
| 8 | $100,000 | New Castle | Building fires | Significant |
| 9 | $80,000 | Middletown | Fire in mobile prop. used as a fixed struc., other | Significant |
| 10 | $75,000 | Wilmington | Building fires | Significant |
Per-capita rates let us compare apples to apples.
12 cities mapped to FIPS 10003.
| City | Population | |
|---|---|---|
| Wilmington | 71,034 | View › |
| Newark | 30,655 | View › |
| Middletown | 23,573 | View › |
| Bear | 23,070 | View › |
| Glasgow | 15,405 | View › |
| Brookside | 14,331 | View › |
| Hockessin | 13,878 | View › |
| Pike Creek Valley | 11,452 | View › |
| Claymont | 10,191 | View › |
| North Star | 8,370 | View › |
| Wilmington Manor | 8,260 | View › |
| Pike Creek | 6,975 | View › |
21 departments report from this county.
Top 4 fire perimeters by acres burned (state-scoped fallback while we build out per-county polygons).
| # | Name | Year | Agency | Acres |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | DEBHR-FY19-RX-Wildflower Units 2-3-9 | 2019 | FWS | 43 |
| 2 | DEPHR-FY19-RX-HQ Field 321 | 2019 | FWS | 35 |
| 3 | DEPHR-FY19-RX-HQ Field 318 | 2019 | FWS | 21 |
| 4 | DEBHR-FY19-RX-WSG Field 8 | 2018 | FWS | 12 |
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.