In 2025, fire departments serving Brigantine responded to 120 fire and hazmat incidents — from cooking fires to gas leaks to a single $25K 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 83% of all calls.
Mar peaks. Oct dips. Watch for the typical fall climb starting in October.
744 incidents 2021–2025. Peak year was 2024. $1.2M cumulative property loss.
| Year | Incidents | YoY | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2021 | 116 | — | |
| 2022 | 160 | +37.9% | |
| 2023 | 141 | -11.9% | |
| 2024 | 207 | +46.8% | |
| 2025 | 120 | -42.0% |
For the 3 building fires Brigantine departments responded to in 2025, here's how they were classified once investigators were finished.
NFIRS Area of Origin (AREA_ORIG) for the 100 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 | Outside area, other | 34 | 34.0% | |
| 2 | Cooking area, kitchen | 10 | 10.0% | |
| 3 | Open area - outside; included are farmland, field | 7 | 7.0% | |
| 4 | Exterior balcony, unenclosed porch | 5 | 5.0% | |
| 5 | Courtyard, patio, porch, terrace | 5 | 5.0% | |
| 6 | Engine area, running gear, wheel area | 4 | 4.0% | |
| 7 | Highway, parking lot, street: on or near | 4 | 4.0% | |
| 8 | Bedroom - < 5 persons; included are jail or prison | 3 | 3.0% | |
| 9 | Wildland, woods | 3 | 3.0% | |
| 10 | Other | 2 | 2.0% | |
| 11 | All other areas | 23 | 23.0% |
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 Brigantine mix.
| # | Heat source | Count | Share | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Undetermined | 20 | 20.0% | |
| 2 | Spark, ember or flame from operating equipment | 11 | 11.0% | |
| 3 | Hot ember or ash | 9 | 9.0% | |
| 4 | Arcing | 8 | 8.0% | |
| 5 | Cigarette | 8 | 8.0% | |
| 6 | Hot or smoldering object, other | 7 | 7.0% | |
| 7 | Heat from powered equipment, other | 6 | 6.0% | |
| 8 | Heat from other open flame or smoking materials | 6 | 6.0% | |
| 9 | Heat source: other | 5 | 5.0% | |
| 10 | Fireworks | 5 | 5.0% | |
| 11 | All other sources | 15 | 15.0% |
Largest single-incident property losses reported by Brigantine departments in 2025. These 4 fires alone account for 100% of the city's annual total.
| # | Property loss | Type | Severity | Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | $25,000 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
| 2 | $20,000 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
| 3 | $1,000 | Grass fire | Significant | Investigated |
| 4 | $200 | Dumpster or other outside trash receptacle fire | Significant | Investigated |
Per-capita rates let us compare apples to apples. Brigantine sits above the national average for incidents per resident.
Top 25 wildfires (1992+) in the FPA-FOD ignitions database, scaled by acres. 109,567 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 | 34.7 mi | |
| 2007 | Arson/incendiarism | 17,050 | 20.6 mi | |
| 1999 | Equipment and vehicle use | 11,765 | 19.6 mi | |
| 2019 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 11,638 | 24.9 mi | |
| 1992 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 5,284 | 29.9 mi | |
| 1992 | Arson/incendiarism | 4,832 | 29.5 mi | |
| 2017 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 3,577 | 23.1 mi | |
| 2017 | Natural | 3,477 | 0.2 mi | |
| 1992 | Arson/incendiarism | 2,900 | 34.1 mi | |
| 2001 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 2,730 | 38.3 mi | |
| 2002 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 2,600 | 42.9 mi | |
| 2007 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 2,450 | 27.2 mi |
Top 4 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 Brigantine. Useful comparison targets — same state, similar size, different fire profile.
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.