ZIP 20588 is served primarily by Howard County, MD — including Columbia. ZIP-level data is sparse — showing the Howard County aggregate.
Jan peaks. Dec dips. ZIP-level seasonality is sparse — this is the county aggregate.
Top 5 NFIRS incident types — county-level breakdown.
| # | Incident type | Count | Share | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Gas leak (natural gas or LPG) | 322 | 28.5% | |
| 2 | Electrical wiring/equipment problem, other | 70 | 6.2% | |
| 3 | Carbon monoxide incident | 65 | 5.8% | |
| 4 | Power line down | 60 | 5.3% | |
| 5 | Hazardous condition, other | 53 | 4.7% |
9 cities sit in Howard County. Click for the per-city NFIRS profile.
| # | City | Population | 2025 incidents | Building fires | Grade |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Columbia | 106,600 | 332 | 7 | A+ |
| 2 | Ellicott City | 73,589 | 173 | 4 | A+ |
| 3 | Ilchester | 27,300 | 0 | 0 | — |
| 4 | Elkridge | 25,251 | 171 | 3 | A |
| 5 | North Laurel | 24,414 | 0 | 0 | — |
| 6 | Scaggsville | 10,793 | 0 | 0 | A+ |
| 7 | Savage | 7,528 | 8 | 0 | A+ |
| 8 | Fulton | 5,435 | 23 | 0 | A |
| 9 | Highland | 927 | 1 | 0 | A |
The figures above are historical. For today's air quality, fire-weather warnings, and active fires, go to the official sources.
This ZIP doesn't have enough NFIRS coverage on its own (under 10 reported incidents across 2021–2025) to publish ZIP-level statistics, so we're showing the Howard County aggregate above. NFIRS reporting is voluntary and many rural ZIPs roll up to broader county totals. The ZIP-to-county mapping uses SimpleMaps' uscities.zips dataset.