ZIP 20646 recorded 411 fire and hazmat incidents in 2025, 1,944 across 2021–2025. Primary county: Charles County, MD.
1,944 incidents from 2021 through 2025 inside this ZIP.
| Year | Incidents | |
|---|---|---|
| 2021 | 296 | |
| 2022 | 448 | |
| 2023 | 428 | |
| 2024 | 361 | |
| 2025 | 411 |
Nov peaks. Jun dips. Aggregated across all 5 years inside this ZIP.
Top 5 NFIRS incident types for ZIP 20646 across 2021–2025.
| # | Incident type | Count | Share | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Gas leak (natural gas or LPG) | 271 | 13.9% | |
| 2 | Building fires | 247 | 12.7% | |
| 3 | Fires in structures other than in a building | 196 | 10.1% | |
| 4 | Cooking fire, confined to container | 178 | 9.2% | |
| 5 | Aircraft standby | 159 | 8.2% |
For the 57 building fires reported here in 2025, here's how investigators classified ignition cause.
NFIRS Area of Origin for ZIP 20646 fires across 2021–2025.
| # | Area of origin | Count | Share | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Undetermined | 50 | 30.1% | |
| 2 | Cooking area, kitchen | 13 | 7.8% | |
| 3 | Engine area, running gear, wheel area | 13 | 7.8% | |
| 4 | Highway, parking lot, street: on or near | 10 | 6.0% | |
| 5 | Open area - outside; included are farmland, field | 10 | 6.0% | |
| 6 | Outside area, other | 7 | 4.2% | |
| 7 | Other | 6 | 3.6% | |
| 8 | Laundry area, wash house (laundry) | 5 | 3.0% | |
| 9 | All other areas | 52 | 31.3% |
NFIRS HEAT_SOURC code — the physical thing that started the fire.
| # | Heat source | Count | Share | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Undetermined | 101 | 60.8% | |
| 2 | Spark, ember or flame from operating equipment | 11 | 6.6% | |
| 3 | Heat from powered equipment, other | 9 | 5.4% | |
| 4 | Heat source: other | 7 | 4.2% | |
| 5 | Hot ember or ash | 7 | 4.2% | |
| 6 | Radiated, conducted heat from operating equipment | 6 | 3.6% | |
| 7 | Hot or smoldering object, other | 6 | 3.6% | |
| 8 | Arcing | 5 | 3.0% | |
| 9 | All other sources | 14 | 8.4% |
Largest single-incident losses in ZIP 20646 across 2021–2025. These 8 fires alone account for 881% of the ZIP's 2025 reported total.
| # | Property loss | Type | Year | Severity |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | $500,000 | Fires in structures other than in a building | 2022 | Major |
| 2 | $289,100 | Fires in structures other than in a building | 2024 | Major |
| 3 | $225,000 | Fires in structures other than in a building | 2024 | Significant |
| 4 | $200,000 | Building fires | 2023 | Significant |
| 5 | $180,000 | Fires in structures other than in a building | 2024 | Significant |
| 6 | $175,000 | Fires in structures other than in a building | 2022 | Significant |
| 7 | $100,000 | Fires in structures other than in a building | 2022 | Significant |
| 8 | $100,000 | Fires in structures other than in a building | 2023 | Significant |
Some ZIPs span multiple cities. Ranked by 5-yr NFIRS incidents inside ZIP 20646.
| # | City | 5-yr incidents | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | La Plata | 1,767 | |
| 2 | Indian Head | 18 | |
| 3 | Potomac Heights | 3 | |
| 4 | Bryans Road | 1 | |
| 5 | Greenwood | 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 — 1,944 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.