Of the few photos I have seen of blown up barrels, most have been fluid steel, not Damascus. That said, it would be very worthwhile to have a good analysis of the barrels that just blew up in Maryland.
Same here, Richard. But given that the number of rounds fired through Damascus guns is tiny compared to the use to which guns with fluid steel barrels are put, that shouldn't come as a surprise. About all it tells us is that accidents happen, even with "modern" firearms. And, at least on occasion, using factory ammunition.
I don't think there's any good way we can compare Damascus blowups, in terms of how often it happens out of the number of rounds fired, to fluid steel catastrophic failures. And to that we might want to consider how often older (say maybe pre-WWII) fluid steel barrels blow compared to more modern ones. But there are a host of factors involved. Like older barrels having been honed, chambers lengthened, etc.
What it comes down to is that by exercising proper caution and common sense, we should be able to reduce these incidents significantly. But we'll never eliminate them totally.