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Risk & Response

Washington County, MD

Community risk profile | NRI Score: 25.9 Relatively Low

155,709
Population
15
Departments
38
Stations
36
Census Tracts

Natural Hazard Loss Profile

Expected annual loss across the 18 natural hazards in FEMA's National Risk Index. Life safety is expressed in fatality-equivalents, combining expected deaths and injuries. Property loss counts building damage only, not agriculture.

Natural Hazard Life Safety
0.30
expected fatality-equivalents per year, natural hazards only
14th highest of 24
Life Safety per 100k
0.19
natural hazard fatality-equivalents per 100,000 residents
24th highest of 24
Natural Hazard Property Loss
$20.6M
expected building loss per year, natural hazards only
10th highest of 24
Property Loss per Resident
$132
natural hazard building loss per resident per year
12th highest of 24

These figures cover natural hazards only. Structure fire, EMS, and motor vehicle incidents are not in the National Risk Index, so this is not an all-cause life safety measure. For Washington County, the largest single contributor is Heat Wave, 34% of the life-safety total.

Washington County carries an expected under 1 natural hazard fatality-equivalents and $20.6M in building loss per year. Rank chips compare the 24 Maryland counties. Nationally, Washington County ranks 1514th of 3,222 U.S. counties for life-safety loss, 3175th for life safety per 100k residents, 868th for property loss, and 3160th for property loss per resident. Computed from census tract data covering every resident, independent of fire department boundaries.

Add fire mortality, cause, and loss

Natural hazard exposure is only part of the risk. Fire deaths and injuries, cause of ignition, and dollar loss per incident come from NERIS incident reporting, which grows as departments serving Washington County enroll. Our Regional tier adds that data for the departments your jurisdiction sponsors, next to public risk and NERIS adoption for every department in Washington County.

Talk to us about Washington County See what a department sees

Loss Breakdown

77%
15%
8%
Property (buildings): $20.6M (76.7%)
Life safety: $4.1M (15.3%)
Agriculture: $2.1M (8.0%)

Total expected annual loss: $26,876,718 per year. Life safety is shown here in dollars, at FEMA's $13.7M value of statistical life, so the three shares sum to the total.

Agriculture is 8% of expected annual loss in Washington County, so total loss overstates property loss here. The property figure above counts building loss only.

Hazards Ranked Two Ways

The hazard that threatens people is often not the hazard that destroys buildings. Both columns cover the same 18 hazards over the same year.

By life-safety loss ($/yr)

Heat Wave
$1.4M
Tornado
$796K
Strong Wind
$518K
Lightning
$452K
Earthquake
$283K
Winter Weather
$170K

By property loss ($/yr)

Inland Flooding
$14.3M
Hurricane
$3.4M
Tornado
$1.0M
Earthquake
$935K
Hail
$458K
Strong Wind
$299K

Census Tract Risk Map

Shaded by quintile across the census tracts in Washington County. Gray tracts have no modeled loss or no resident population. Per-resident figures on this map use the National Risk Index 2020 tract population.

Fire Service Profile

40%
53%
Career: 7% (1)
Combination: 40% (6)
Volunteer: 53% (8)
Residents per Station
4,098
census population per registered station
Stations per 100k
24.4
registered stations per 100,000 residents

Department composition covers the 15 departments registered in NERIS Public for Washington County, MD. Departments that have not registered are not counted. Station coverage divides census population by registered stations; department service areas overlap, so their populations are not summed.

Department Rankings

Fire and EMS departments serving Washington County. Click column headers to sort.

NRI Rating is from FEMA's National Risk Index, which measures community risk across 18 natural hazards using expected annual losses, social vulnerability, and community resilience. Life-Safety Loss uses FEMA's Value of Statistical Life ($13.7M per expected fatality) to estimate annual risk to human life.

Department boundaries and station counts are self-reported through NERIS Public and may not reflect current service areas. Population and Life-Safety Loss reflect each department's full jurisdiction. County-level risk metrics are computed from census tract data and are not affected by boundary accuracy. See full methodology.

Showing 15 departments
Department ▲ Est. Population ▲ Life-Safety Loss ▼ NRI Rating ▲ Stations ▲
Bedington Fire & Rescue 36,767 $1.3M Relatively Moderate 2
Hagerstown Fire Department 43,377 $1.2M Very Low 7
Funkstown Volunteer Fire Company, Inc 36,129 $898.7K Relatively Low 4
Maugansville Goodwill Volunteer Fire Company, Inc. 31,276 $791.2K Relatively Low 2
Smithsburg Community Volunteer Fire Company, Inc 16,684 $407.7K Relatively Low 2
Volunteer Fire Company Of Halfway, Inc. 12,994 $355.5K Very Low 2
Longmeadow Volunteer Fire Company, Inc. 13,090 $352.5K Relatively Moderate 2
Community Volunteer Fire Company District 12 11,962 $296.5K Very Low 2
Hagerstown Regional Airport Fire Department 9,351 $237.9K Relatively Low 1
Williamsport Volunteer Fire & Ems, Inc. 8,651 $236.0K Relatively Low 1
First Hose Company Of Boonsboro, Inc. 8,660 $214.4K Relatively Low 4
Leitersburg Volunteer Fire Company, Inc. 4,815 $118.6K Relatively Low 2
Sharpsburg Volunteer Fire Company, Inc. 4,525 $118.0K Relatively Low 3
Mt. Aetna Volunteer Fire Department 2,943 $76.2K Relatively Low 2
Potomac Valley Fire Company, Inc. 2,567 $71.6K Very Low 2
No departments match your search.

Risk Snapshot

12.4%
Poverty Rate
18.1%
Age 65+
15.3%
Disability Rate
6.3%
Uninsured
57.2%
Pre-1980 Housing
2.3%
Mobile Homes
6.7%
Vacancy Rate
3.1%
Wood Heat
$78,151
Median HH Income

FEMA Disaster Declarations

5
Last 10 Years
12
Last 25 Years
Hurricane
Most Frequent

Every department in your region, on one briefing

Our Regional tier gives state fire marshals and county fire authorities one briefing across every department in the jurisdiction: priority tracts ranked by risk and demand, NERIS adoption by county, and a quarterly report with a page per department. Response times appear for the departments you sponsor. Free 90-day pilot.

Explore the Regional Tier See the Response Demo