Kitzmiller Volunteer Fire Department

Service Area Overview

Your department boundary, station locations, and overall NRI risk scores by census tract. Use the sections below to explore specific hazards, fire risk indicators, and EMS demand drivers across your service area.

Download Complete Tract Data (CSV)

Service area, population, and census tract assignments are based on department boundaries from NERIS Public. Boundary accuracy varies by jurisdiction.

Natural Hazard Risk

What this means for planning: With a risk score of 42.4 (Relatively Moderate nationally), cold wave is your leading natural hazard. Focus on cold-exposure emergency response, warming center partnerships, and proactive wellness checks for vulnerable populations during extreme cold events.

Top 5 Hazards in Your Service Area

Sorted by life-safety impact. Life-safety loss uses FEMA’s Value of Statistical Life ($13.7M per fatality or 10 injuries). NRI methodology

Hazard	Risk Score	Rating	Life-Safety Loss $/yr	Total Loss $/yr
Cold Wave TOP LIFE-SAFETY HAZARD	42.4	Relatively Moderate	$28K/yr	$36K/yr
Strong Wind	65	Relatively High	$21K/yr	$27K/yr
Lightning	57.9	Relatively Moderate	$14K/yr	$14K/yr
Tornado	29.8	Relatively Low	$11K/yr	$17K/yr
River Flood	38.4	Relatively Low	$3K/yr	$448K/yr

Historical Disaster Declarations

Your county has experienced 4 FEMA disaster declarations in the last 10 years, and 10 declarations in the last 25 years.

Date	Type	Title
2026-01-24	Winter Storm	SEVERE WINTER STORM
2020-03-26	Biological	COVID-19 PANDEMIC
2020-03-13	Biological	COVID-19
2016-03-04	Snowstorm	SEVERE WINTER STORM AND SNOWSTORM
2012-11-20	Hurricane	HURRICANE SANDY

Demographics & Vulnerability

Age Distribution

Age drives EMS call volume (highest utilization: 65+ and especially 75+, with elevated rates also among children under 5), shapes fire safety education priorities, and determines evacuation assistance needs. The dark marker on each bar shows the national average.

Social Vulnerability Indicators

These indicators identify populations that need additional support during emergencies, face barriers to self-evacuation or medical access, and benefit most from proactive CRR programming.

Vulnerability Factor	Your Community	Peer Average	National Average	vs. Peers
Disability Rate Higher EMS utilization, evacuation assistance needs, accessible communication requirements	19.1%	18.1%	13.4%	≈ average
Poverty Rate Economic barrier to safety resources	12.2%	14.9%	12.5%	slightly lower
Uninsured Rate May delay medical care, leading to emergencies	7.1%	7.3%	8.3%	≈ average
Limited English Households Language barrier to emergency communication	0.3%	0.1%	4.3%	2.3x higher
No Vehicle Access Evacuation risk; higher EMS transport dependence	4.1%	4.1%	8.7%	≈ average
No Internet Access Disconnected from digital emergency alerts	16.3%	14.6%	6.7%	≈ average

Economic Context

Fire Risk Factors

What this means for planning: 18.7% of housing units are vacant, 1.8x higher the national average. Vacant properties have elevated fire risk due to lack of maintenance, unauthorized access, and delayed detection. Work with code enforcement on vacant property inspections and securing abandoned structures.

Risk Factor	Your Community	Peer Average	National Average	vs. Peers
Pre-1980 Housing Pre-1980 construction standards	61.3%	36.7%	36.3%	1.7x higher
Wood Heating Wood stoves and fireplaces as primary heat	7.9%	6.1%	1.4%	slightly higher
Vacancy Rate Vacant properties at higher fire risk	18.7%	17.2%	10.3%	≈ average
Mobile Homes Structural fire spread risk	17.9%	19.5%	5.8%	≈ average
Renter-Occupied Higher turnover, variable maintenance	18.3%	19.3%	34.7%	≈ average

EMS Risk Factors

EMS typically accounts for 60-80% of fire department call volume nationally. The demographics below are the strongest predictors of where that demand comes from in your service area.

What this means for planning: 19.1% of residents have a disability, slightly higher the national average. Residents with disabilities have higher EMS utilization and may require specialized evacuation assistance, accessible communication during emergencies, and coordination with social services. Consider functional needs assessments in pre-incident planning and partnerships with disability advocacy organizations.

Risk Factor	Your Community	Peer Average	National Average	vs. Peers
Population 65+ Highest EMS utilization group	23.6%	22.9%	17.4%	≈ average
Disability Rate Higher EMS utilization, specialized assistance needs	19.1%	18.1%	13.4%	≈ average
No Vehicle Access Evacuation risk; higher EMS transport dependence	4.1%	4.1%	8.7%	≈ average
Uninsured Rate May delay care, leading to emergencies	7.1%	7.3%	8.3%	≈ average
Poverty Rate Economic barrier to healthcare access	12.2%	14.9%	12.5%	slightly lower

Peer Comparison

Departments similar to yours in size, type, density class, and region. Peer benchmarks contextualize your community risk profile and support “demonstrated need” narratives in grant applications.

Department	State	Population	Risk Score	65+ %	Poverty %	Stations
Kitzmiller Volunteer Fire Department (You)	MD	2,651	14.7	23.6%	12.2%	1
Corriganville Volunteer Fire Company, Inc.	MD	1,943	11.6	21.1%	12.1%	1
Longshop-Mccoy Fire And Rescue	VA	3,245	16.3	23.9%	8.8%	0
Flint Hill Fire Department	GA	2,493	16.6	21.7%	20.2%	2
Wallace Volunteer Fire Department	WV	3,543	28.8	21.6%	15.6%	1