In 2025, fire departments serving Sussex County responded to 2,521 fire and hazmat incidents — including a single $1.5M property loss. FEMA NRI rates wildfire risk here as Very High.
Building fires lead by count. Top five categories make up about 51% of all calls.
Mar peaks. Dec dips.
11,869 incidents from 2021 through 2025.
| Year | Incidents | |
|---|---|---|
| 2021 | 1,945 | |
| 2022 | 2,416 | |
| 2023 | 2,254 | |
| 2024 | 2,733 | |
| 2025 | 2,521 |
For the 513 building fires departments responded to in 2025, here's how investigators classified them.
Largest single-incident property losses in Sussex County during 2025. These 10 fires alone account for 80% of the county's total.
| # | Property loss | City | Type | Severity |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | $1,500,000 | DEWEY | Building fires | Major |
| 2 | $700,000 | Seaford | Building fires | Major |
| 3 | $675,000 | Seaford | Building fires | Major |
| 4 | $475,000 | Olde Mill | Building fires | Major |
| 5 | $400,000 | Seaford | Building fires | Major |
| 6 | $368,900 | Olde Mill | Building fires | Major |
| 7 | $250,000 | LINCOLN | Building fires | Major |
| 8 | $250,000 | Town of Delmar | Building fires | Major |
| 9 | $200,000 | MILFORD | Building fires | Significant |
| 10 | $150,000 | MILFORD | Building fires | Significant |
Per-capita rates let us compare apples to apples.
12 cities mapped to FIPS 10005.
20 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.