ZIP 21042 recorded 81 fire and hazmat incidents in 2025, 436 across 2021–2025. Primary county: Howard County, MD.
436 incidents from 2021 through 2025 inside this ZIP.
| Year | Incidents | |
|---|---|---|
| 2021 | 110 | |
| 2022 | 55 | |
| 2023 | 84 | |
| 2024 | 106 | |
| 2025 | 81 |
Sep peaks. Feb dips. Aggregated across all 5 years inside this ZIP.
Top 5 NFIRS incident types for ZIP 21042 across 2021–2025.
| # | Incident type | Count | Share | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Gas leak (natural gas or LPG) | 145 | 33.3% | |
| 2 | Power line down | 45 | 10.3% | |
| 3 | Electrical wiring/equipment problem, other | 28 | 6.4% | |
| 4 | Arcing, shorted electrical equipment | 26 | 6.0% | |
| 5 | Unauthorized burning | 21 | 4.8% |
For the 2 building fires reported here in 2025, here's how investigators classified ignition cause.
NFIRS Area of Origin for ZIP 21042 fires across 2021–2025.
| # | Area of origin | Count | Share | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Engine area, running gear, wheel area | 10 | 25.6% | |
| 2 | Undetermined | 8 | 20.5% | |
| 3 | Wildland, woods | 5 | 12.8% | |
| 4 | Outside area, other | 4 | 10.3% | |
| 5 | Other | 2 | 5.1% | |
| 6 | Cargo/trunk area - all vehicles | 2 | 5.1% | |
| 7 | Function area, other | 1 | 2.6% | |
| 8 | Vehicle storage area; garage, carport | 1 | 2.6% | |
| 9 | All other areas | 6 | 15.4% |
NFIRS HEAT_SOURC code — the physical thing that started the fire.
| # | Heat source | Count | Share | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Undetermined | 17 | 43.6% | |
| 2 | Heat from powered equipment, other | 5 | 12.8% | |
| 3 | Spark, ember or flame from operating equipment | 4 | 10.3% | |
| 4 | Arcing | 3 | 7.7% | |
| 5 | Hot ember or ash | 2 | 5.1% | |
| 6 | Heat source: other | 1 | 2.6% | |
| 7 | Radiated, conducted heat from operating equipment | 1 | 2.6% | |
| 8 | Hot or smoldering object, other | 1 | 2.6% | |
| 9 | All other sources | 5 | 12.8% |
Largest single-incident losses in ZIP 21042 across 2021–2025. These 1 fires alone account for 100% of the ZIP's 2025 reported total.
| # | Property loss | Type | Year | Severity |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | $1 | Natural vegetation fire, other | 2025 | Significant |
Some ZIPs span multiple cities. Ranked by 5-yr NFIRS incidents inside ZIP 21042.
| # | City | 5-yr incidents | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Ellicott City | 436 |
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 — 436 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.