ZIP 21849 recorded 42 fire and hazmat incidents in 2025, 163 across 2021–2025. Primary county: Wicomico County, MD. FEMA NRI rates wildfire risk here as Very High.
163 incidents from 2021 through 2025 inside this ZIP.
| Year | Incidents | |
|---|---|---|
| 2021 | 28 | |
| 2022 | 25 | |
| 2023 | 28 | |
| 2024 | 40 | |
| 2025 | 42 |
Mar peaks. Jul dips. Aggregated across all 5 years inside this ZIP.
Top 5 NFIRS incident types for ZIP 21849 across 2021–2025.
| # | Incident type | Count | Share | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Building fires | 43 | 26.4% | |
| 2 | Forest, woods or wildland fire | 13 | 8.0% | |
| 3 | Fires in structures other than in a building | 12 | 7.4% | |
| 4 | Passenger vehicle fire | 12 | 7.4% | |
| 5 | Natural vegetation fire, other | 12 | 7.4% |
For the 19 building fires reported here in 2025, here's how investigators classified ignition cause.
NFIRS Area of Origin for ZIP 21849 fires across 2021–2025.
| # | Area of origin | Count | Share | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Outside area, other | 12 | 22.6% | |
| 2 | Engine area, running gear, wheel area | 9 | 17.0% | |
| 3 | Undetermined | 8 | 15.1% | |
| 4 | Other | 7 | 13.2% | |
| 5 | Wildland, woods | 5 | 9.4% | |
| 6 | Open area - outside; included are farmland, field | 3 | 5.7% | |
| 7 | Highway, parking lot, street: on or near | 2 | 3.8% | |
| 8 | Cooking area, kitchen | 1 | 1.9% | |
| 9 | All other areas | 6 | 11.3% |
NFIRS HEAT_SOURC code — the physical thing that started the fire.
| # | Heat source | Count | Share | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Undetermined | 17 | 32.1% | |
| 2 | Hot ember or ash | 10 | 18.9% | |
| 3 | Hot or smoldering object, other | 8 | 15.1% | |
| 4 | Heat source: other | 4 | 7.5% | |
| 5 | Heat from powered equipment, other | 2 | 3.8% | |
| 6 | Spark, ember or flame from operating equipment | 2 | 3.8% | |
| 7 | Radiated, conducted heat from operating equipment | 2 | 3.8% | |
| 8 | Arcing | 2 | 3.8% | |
| 9 | All other sources | 6 | 11.3% |
Largest single-incident losses in ZIP 21849 across 2021–2025. These 5 fires alone account for 280% of the ZIP's 2025 reported total.
| # | Property loss | Type | Year | Severity |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | $5,000 | Passenger vehicle fire | 2025 | Significant |
| 2 | $4,000 | Building fires | 2022 | Significant |
| 3 | $3,500 | Building fires | 2023 | Significant |
| 4 | $1,000 | Passenger vehicle fire | 2021 | Significant |
| 5 | $500 | Building fires | 2021 | Significant |
Some ZIPs span multiple cities. Ranked by 5-yr NFIRS incidents inside ZIP 21849.
| # | City | 5-yr incidents | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Pittsville | 5 | |
| 2 | Salisbury | 2 | |
| 3 | Willards | 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 — 163 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.