In 2025, fire departments serving Chatham responded to 58 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 69% of all calls.
Jun peaks. Sep dips. Watch for the typical fall climb starting in October.
336 incidents 2021–2025. Peak year was 2024.
| Year | Incidents | YoY | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2021 | 50 | — | |
| 2022 | 61 | +22.0% | |
| 2023 | 58 | -4.9% | |
| 2024 | 109 | +87.9% | |
| 2025 | 58 | -46.8% |
For the 0 building fires Chatham departments responded to in 2025, here's how they were classified once investigators were finished.
NFIRS Area of Origin (AREA_ORIG) for the 61 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 | 15 | 24.6% | |
| 2 | Cooking area, kitchen | 8 | 13.1% | |
| 3 | Highway, parking lot, street: on or near | 8 | 13.1% | |
| 4 | Engine area, running gear, wheel area | 5 | 8.2% | |
| 5 | Vehicle area, other | 4 | 6.6% | |
| 6 | Undetermined | 3 | 4.9% | |
| 7 | Chute/container - trash, rubbish, waste | 2 | 3.3% | |
| 8 | Vehicle storage area; garage, carport | 2 | 3.3% | |
| 9 | Roof surface: exterior | 2 | 3.3% | |
| 10 | Wildland, woods | 2 | 3.3% | |
| 11 | All other areas | 10 | 16.4% |
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 Chatham mix.
| # | Heat source | Count | Share | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Undetermined | 24 | 39.3% | |
| 2 | Heat source: other | 6 | 9.8% | |
| 3 | Arcing | 6 | 9.8% | |
| 4 | Heat from powered equipment, other | 4 | 6.6% | |
| 5 | Radiated, conducted heat from operating equipment | 3 | 4.9% | |
| 6 | Hot or smoldering object, other | 3 | 4.9% | |
| 7 | Hot ember or ash | 3 | 4.9% | |
| 8 | Heat from direct flame, convection currents | 3 | 4.9% | |
| 9 | Spark, ember or flame from operating equipment | 2 | 3.3% | |
| 10 | Heat, spark from friction | 1 | 1.6% | |
| 11 | All other sources | 6 | 9.8% |
Per-capita rates let us compare apples to apples. Chatham sits below the national average for incidents per resident.
Top 25 wildfires (1992+) in the FPA-FOD ignitions database, scaled by acres. 15,578 acres burned in this 50-mile radius. Each dot is a fire — bigger dots burned more land.
| Year | Cause | Acres | Distance | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2002 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 2,600 | 48.4 mi | |
| 2010 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 2,240 | 49.2 mi | |
| 1992 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 1,000 | 48.4 mi | |
| 1995 | Recreation and ceremony | 750 | 39.6 mi | |
| 1999 | Smoking | 700 | 48.9 mi | |
| 2016 | Recreation and ceremony | 641 | 35.2 mi | |
| 1999 | Arson/incendiarism | 623 | 40.6 mi | |
| 2016 | Recreation and ceremony | 552 | 37.7 mi | |
| 2014 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 536 | 48.8 mi | |
| 1994 | Smoking | 500 | 36.5 mi | |
| 2001 | Arson/incendiarism | 485 | 37.1 mi | |
| 2012 | Smoking | 481 | 43.6 mi |
Top 2 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 Chatham. Useful comparison targets — same state, similar size, different fire profile.
1 departments report to NFIRS for incidents in Chatham.
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.