ZIP 19970 recorded 100 fire and hazmat incidents in 2025, 462 across 2021–2025. Primary county: Sussex County, DE. FEMA NRI rates wildfire risk here as Very High.
462 incidents from 2021 through 2025 inside this ZIP.
| Year | Incidents | |
|---|---|---|
| 2021 | 80 | |
| 2022 | 86 | |
| 2023 | 94 | |
| 2024 | 102 | |
| 2025 | 100 |
Jun peaks. Dec dips. Aggregated across all 5 years inside this ZIP.
Top 5 NFIRS incident types for ZIP 19970 across 2021–2025.
| # | Incident type | Count | Share | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Gas leak (natural gas or LPG) | 145 | 31.4% | |
| 2 | Building fires | 100 | 21.6% | |
| 3 | Aircraft standby | 30 | 6.5% | |
| 4 | Cooking fire, confined to container | 26 | 5.6% | |
| 5 | Power line down | 17 | 3.7% |
For the 20 building fires reported here in 2025, here's how investigators classified ignition cause.
NFIRS Area of Origin for ZIP 19970 fires across 2021–2025.
| # | Area of origin | Count | Share | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Undetermined | 24 | 33.3% | |
| 2 | Outside area, other | 10 | 13.9% | |
| 3 | Open area - outside; included are farmland, field | 7 | 9.7% | |
| 4 | Cooking area, kitchen | 5 | 6.9% | |
| 5 | Other | 4 | 5.6% | |
| 6 | Vehicle storage area; garage, carport | 3 | 4.2% | |
| 7 | Wall surface: exterior | 3 | 4.2% | |
| 8 | Wildland, woods | 3 | 4.2% | |
| 9 | All other areas | 13 | 18.1% |
NFIRS HEAT_SOURC code — the physical thing that started the fire.
| # | Heat source | Count | Share | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Undetermined | 36 | 50.0% | |
| 2 | Spark, ember or flame from operating equipment | 6 | 8.3% | |
| 3 | Arcing | 5 | 6.9% | |
| 4 | Hot or smoldering object, other | 5 | 6.9% | |
| 5 | Hot ember or ash | 4 | 5.6% | |
| 6 | Radiated, conducted heat from operating equipment | 3 | 4.2% | |
| 7 | Heat from other open flame or smoking materials | 3 | 4.2% | |
| 8 | Lightning | 3 | 4.2% | |
| 9 | All other sources | 7 | 9.7% |
Largest single-incident losses in ZIP 19970 across 2021–2025. These 1 fires alone account for 0% of the ZIP's 2025 reported total.
| # | Property loss | Type | Year | Severity |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | $9 | Building fires | 2022 | Significant |
Some ZIPs span multiple cities. Ranked by 5-yr NFIRS incidents inside ZIP 19970.
| # | City | 5-yr incidents | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Ocean View | 395 | |
| 2 | Millville | 22 | |
| 3 | Bethany Beach | 4 | |
| 4 | Millsboro | 1 |
The figures above are historical. For today's air quality, fire-weather warnings, and active fires, go to the official sources.
NFIRS reports each fire incident with a 5-digit address ZIP. We aggregate those rows directly to produce ZIP-level totals — 462 incidents in this ZIP across 2021–2025. Building-fire breakdowns (Area of Origin, Heat Source, ignition cause) only count fires investigators classified beyond the basic incident report. Because NFIRS reporting is voluntary, totals are a strong indicator rather than a complete census.