In 2025, fire departments serving Bridgewater responded to 138 fire and hazmat incidents . 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 59% of all calls.
Jan peaks. Sep dips. Watch for the typical fall climb starting in October.
757 incidents 2021–2025. Peak year was 2024. $1.2M cumulative property loss.
| Year | Incidents | YoY | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2021 | 103 | — | |
| 2022 | 115 | +11.7% | |
| 2023 | 126 | +9.6% | |
| 2024 | 275 | +118.3% | |
| 2025 | 138 | -49.8% |
For the 13 building fires Bridgewater departments responded to in 2025, here's how they were classified once investigators were finished.
NFIRS Area of Origin (AREA_ORIG) for the 117 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 | Undetermined | 36 | 30.8% | |
| 2 | Outside area, other | 19 | 16.2% | |
| 3 | Open area - outside; included are farmland, field | 10 | 8.5% | |
| 4 | Engine area, running gear, wheel area | 9 | 7.7% | |
| 5 | Highway, parking lot, street: on or near | 8 | 6.8% | |
| 6 | Cooking area, kitchen | 6 | 5.1% | |
| 7 | Vehicle area, other | 5 | 4.3% | |
| 8 | Wildland, woods | 4 | 3.4% | |
| 9 | Other | 3 | 2.6% | |
| 10 | Operator/passenger area of transportation equip. | 2 | 1.7% | |
| 11 | All other areas | 15 | 12.8% |
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 Bridgewater mix.
| # | Heat source | Count | Share | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Undetermined | 73 | 62.4% | |
| 2 | Arcing | 9 | 7.7% | |
| 3 | Hot ember or ash | 5 | 4.3% | |
| 4 | Cigarette | 4 | 3.4% | |
| 5 | Cigarette lighter | 4 | 3.4% | |
| 6 | Radiated, conducted heat from operating equipment | 3 | 2.6% | |
| 7 | Hot or smoldering object, other | 3 | 2.6% | |
| 8 | Heat, spark from friction | 3 | 2.6% | |
| 9 | Heat from powered equipment, other | 2 | 1.7% | |
| 10 | Spark, ember or flame from operating equipment | 2 | 1.7% | |
| 11 | All other sources | 9 | 7.7% |
Per-capita rates let us compare apples to apples. Bridgewater sits below the national average for incidents per resident.
Top 25 wildfires (1992+) in the FPA-FOD ignitions database, scaled by acres. 44,128 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 | 49.6 mi | |
| 1992 | Arson/incendiarism | 2,900 | 49.1 mi | |
| 2001 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 2,730 | 46.1 mi | |
| 2002 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 2,600 | 39.5 mi | |
| 2014 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 2,300 | 41.5 mi | |
| 2010 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 2,240 | 39.9 mi | |
| 2016 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 1,500 | 42.0 mi | |
| 2017 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 1,500 | 42.3 mi | |
| 1992 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 1,000 | 39.3 mi | |
| 1995 | Recreation and ceremony | 750 | 38.0 mi | |
| 1997 | Smoking | 702 | 46.0 mi | |
| 2016 | Recreation and ceremony | 641 | 48.0 mi |
Top 7 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 Bridgewater. Useful comparison targets — same state, similar size, different fire profile.
2 departments report to NFIRS for incidents in Bridgewater.
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.