In 2025, fire departments serving Blackwood responded to 76 fire and hazmat incidents — from cooking fires to gas leaks to a single $304K building blaze. Here's the full picture.
Gas leak (natural gas or LPG) lead by count. Building fires lead by dollars. Together the top five categories make up about 71% of all calls.
Jan peaks. Aug dips. Watch for the typical fall climb starting in October.
418 incidents 2021–2025. Peak year was 2022. $721K cumulative property loss.
| Year | Incidents | YoY | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2021 | 88 | — | |
| 2022 | 112 | +27.3% | |
| 2023 | 65 | -42.0% | |
| 2024 | 77 | +18.5% | |
| 2025 | 76 | -1.3% |
For the 4 building fires Blackwood departments responded to in 2025, here's how they were classified once investigators were finished.
NFIRS Area of Origin (AREA_ORIG) for the 30 building fires investigators classified across 2021–2025. The room or location where ignition occurred — kitchens, bedrooms, exterior, vehicle areas — tells you where to focus prevention.
| # | Area of origin | Count | Share | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Open area - outside; included are farmland, field | 7 | 23.3% | |
| 2 | Outside area, other | 6 | 20.0% | |
| 3 | Undetermined | 3 | 10.0% | |
| 4 | Common room, den, family room, living room, lounge | 2 | 6.7% | |
| 5 | Bedroom - < 5 persons; included are jail or prison | 2 | 6.7% | |
| 6 | Bathroom, checkroom, lavatory, locker room | 2 | 6.7% | |
| 7 | Wildland, woods | 2 | 6.7% | |
| 8 | Cooking area, kitchen | 1 | 3.3% | |
| 9 | Laundry area, wash house (laundry) | 1 | 3.3% | |
| 10 | Equipment or service area, other | 1 | 3.3% | |
| 11 | All other areas | 3 | 10.0% |
NFIRS Heat Source (HEAT_SOURC) — the physical thing that started it. Spark or ember from operating equipment, an open flame, smoking materials, or hot embers from a fireplace are the leading culprits nationwide. Here's the Blackwood mix.
| # | Heat source | Count | Share | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Undetermined | 20 | 66.7% | |
| 2 | Arcing | 3 | 10.0% | |
| 3 | Spark, ember or flame from operating equipment | 2 | 6.7% | |
| 4 | Radiated, conducted heat from operating equipment | 2 | 6.7% | |
| 5 | Hot ember or ash | 1 | 3.3% | |
| 6 | Cigarette | 1 | 3.3% | |
| 7 | Candle | 1 | 3.3% |
Largest single-incident property losses reported by Blackwood departments in 2025. These 3 fires alone account for 100% of the city's annual total.
| # | Property loss | Type | Severity | Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | $304,258 | Building fires | Major | Investigated |
| 2 | $15,000 | Fire, other | Significant | Investigated |
| 3 | $1,000 | Outside rubbish, trash or waste fire | Significant | Investigated |
Per-capita rates let us compare apples to apples. Blackwood sits above the national average for incidents per resident.
Top 25 wildfires (1992+) in the FPA-FOD ignitions database, scaled by acres. 110,555 acres burned in this 50-mile radius. Each dot is a fire — bigger dots burned more land.
| Year | Cause | Acres | Distance | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1995 | Arson/incendiarism | 19,225 | 40.8 mi | |
| 2007 | Arson/incendiarism | 17,050 | 40.5 mi | |
| 1999 | Equipment and vehicle use | 11,765 | 34.8 mi | |
| 2019 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 11,638 | 32.6 mi | |
| 1992 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 5,284 | 40.6 mi | |
| 1992 | Arson/incendiarism | 4,832 | 43.0 mi | |
| 2017 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 3,577 | 23.9 mi | |
| 2017 | Natural | 3,477 | 45.3 mi | |
| 1992 | Arson/incendiarism | 2,900 | 26.5 mi | |
| 2001 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 2,730 | 41.5 mi | |
| 2002 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 2,600 | 34.0 mi | |
| 2007 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 2,450 | 19.9 mi |
Top 3 ZIP codes by NFIRS incident count across 2021–2025. Each ZIP has its own fire profile — dive in for neighborhood-level context.
Six New Jersey cities with population within ±25% of Blackwood. Useful comparison targets — same state, similar size, different fire profile.
2 departments report to NFIRS for incidents in Blackwood.
A 30-minute weekend can cut your home's exposure substantially. These four checklists are a good starting point.
Numbers reflect incidents reported by participating fire departments to the National Fire Incident Reporting System (NFIRS) Public Data Release for calendar year 2025. NFIRS is voluntary — about 23,000 of roughly 30,000 US fire departments report — so totals are a strong indicator, not a complete census. Per-capita comparisons use 2023 ACS population estimates. Wildland fire data complements NFIRS with NIFC and USFS perimeters. Active-fire counts come from a dated NIFC snapshot, not a live feed.