In 2025, fire departments serving Collingswood responded to 126 fire and hazmat incidents — from cooking fires to gas leaks to a single $20K 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 75% of all calls.
Feb peaks. Aug dips. Watch for the typical fall climb starting in October.
547 incidents 2021–2025. Peak year was 2024. $300K cumulative property loss.
| Year | Incidents | YoY | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2021 | 72 | — | |
| 2022 | 106 | +47.2% | |
| 2023 | 73 | -31.1% | |
| 2024 | 170 | +132.9% | |
| 2025 | 126 | -25.9% |
For the 9 building fires Collingswood departments responded to in 2025, here's how they were classified once investigators were finished.
NFIRS Area of Origin (AREA_ORIG) for the 52 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 | 7 | 13.5% | |
| 2 | Cooking area, kitchen | 5 | 9.6% | |
| 3 | Engine area, running gear, wheel area | 5 | 9.6% | |
| 4 | Exterior stairway, ramp, or fire escape | 4 | 7.7% | |
| 5 | Exterior, exposed surface | 4 | 7.7% | |
| 6 | Courtyard, patio, porch, terrace | 4 | 7.7% | |
| 7 | Open area - outside; included are farmland, field | 4 | 7.7% | |
| 8 | Undetermined | 3 | 5.8% | |
| 9 | Bedroom - < 5 persons; included are jail or prison | 2 | 3.8% | |
| 10 | Highway, parking lot, street: on or near | 2 | 3.8% | |
| 11 | All other areas | 12 | 23.1% |
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 Collingswood mix.
| # | Heat source | Count | Share | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Undetermined | 35 | 67.3% | |
| 2 | Flame/torch used for lighting | 4 | 7.7% | |
| 3 | Arcing | 3 | 5.8% | |
| 4 | Radiated, conducted heat from operating equipment | 2 | 3.8% | |
| 5 | Hot ember or ash | 2 | 3.8% | |
| 6 | Cigarette | 2 | 3.8% | |
| 7 | Heat source: other | 1 | 1.9% | |
| 8 | Heat, spark from friction | 1 | 1.9% | |
| 9 | Heat from undetermined smoking material | 1 | 1.9% | |
| 10 | Cigarette lighter | 1 | 1.9% |
Largest single-incident property losses reported by Collingswood departments in 2025. These 8 fires alone account for 100% of the city's annual total.
| # | Property loss | Type | Severity | Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | $20,000 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
| 2 | $15,000 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
| 3 | $10,000 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
| 4 | $2,000 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
| 5 | $1,000 | Fires in structures other than in a building | Significant | Investigated |
| 6 | $1,000 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
| 7 | $400 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
| 8 | $200 | Outside rubbish, trash or waste fire | Significant | Investigated |
Per-capita rates let us compare apples to apples. Collingswood sits above the national average for incidents per resident.
Top 25 wildfires (1992+) in the FPA-FOD ignitions database, scaled by acres. 107,090 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 | 40.7 mi | |
| 2007 | Arson/incendiarism | 17,050 | 43.1 mi | |
| 1999 | Equipment and vehicle use | 11,765 | 37.9 mi | |
| 2019 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 11,638 | 34.7 mi | |
| 1992 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 5,284 | 41.5 mi | |
| 1992 | Arson/incendiarism | 4,832 | 44.0 mi | |
| 2017 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 3,577 | 28.3 mi | |
| 1992 | Arson/incendiarism | 2,900 | 26.6 mi | |
| 2001 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 2,730 | 40.6 mi | |
| 2002 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 2,600 | 31.6 mi | |
| 2007 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 2,450 | 24.0 mi | |
| 2014 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 2,300 | 31.7 mi |
Top 10 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 Collingswood. Useful comparison targets — same state, similar size, different fire profile.
1 departments report to NFIRS for incidents in Collingswood.
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.