In 2025, fire departments serving Colts Neck responded to 133 fire and hazmat incidents . Here's the full picture.
Power line down lead by count. Building fires lead by dollars. Together the top five categories make up about 79% of all calls.
Jun peaks. Sep dips. Watch for the typical fall climb starting in October.
444 incidents 2021–2025. Peak year was 2025.
| Year | Incidents | YoY | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2021 | 64 | — | |
| 2022 | 55 | -14.1% | |
| 2023 | 85 | +54.5% | |
| 2024 | 107 | +25.9% | |
| 2025 | 133 | +24.3% |
For the 21 building fires Colts Neck departments responded to in 2025, here's how they were classified once investigators were finished.
NFIRS Area of Origin (AREA_ORIG) for the 138 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 | 44 | 31.9% | |
| 2 | Outside area, other | 15 | 10.9% | |
| 3 | Open area - outside; included are farmland, field | 13 | 9.4% | |
| 4 | Highway, parking lot, street: on or near | 10 | 7.2% | |
| 5 | Vehicle area, other | 8 | 5.8% | |
| 6 | Other | 6 | 4.3% | |
| 7 | Wildland, woods | 6 | 4.3% | |
| 8 | Engine area, running gear, wheel area | 4 | 2.9% | |
| 9 | Cooking area, kitchen | 3 | 2.2% | |
| 10 | Storage area, other | 3 | 2.2% | |
| 11 | All other areas | 26 | 18.8% |
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 Colts Neck mix.
| # | Heat source | Count | Share | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Undetermined | 80 | 58.0% | |
| 2 | Arcing | 11 | 8.0% | |
| 3 | Spark, ember or flame from operating equipment | 9 | 6.5% | |
| 4 | Radiated, conducted heat from operating equipment | 8 | 5.8% | |
| 5 | Hot ember or ash | 6 | 4.3% | |
| 6 | Match | 6 | 4.3% | |
| 7 | Heat from powered equipment, other | 5 | 3.6% | |
| 8 | Heat source: other | 2 | 1.4% | |
| 9 | Heat, spark from friction | 2 | 1.4% | |
| 10 | Hot or smoldering object, other | 1 | 0.7% | |
| 11 | All other sources | 8 | 5.8% |
Per-capita rates let us compare apples to apples. Colts Neck sits above the national average for incidents per resident.
Top 25 wildfires (1992+) in the FPA-FOD ignitions database, scaled by acres. 103,718 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 | 27.3 mi | |
| 2007 | Arson/incendiarism | 17,050 | 41.1 mi | |
| 1999 | Equipment and vehicle use | 11,765 | 43.4 mi | |
| 2019 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 11,638 | 39.1 mi | |
| 1992 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 5,284 | 31.9 mi | |
| 1992 | Arson/incendiarism | 4,832 | 32.4 mi | |
| 2017 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 3,577 | 49.2 mi | |
| 1992 | Arson/incendiarism | 2,900 | 35.5 mi | |
| 2001 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 2,730 | 23.9 mi | |
| 2002 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 2,600 | 25.2 mi | |
| 2007 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 2,450 | 48.7 mi | |
| 2014 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 2,300 | 26.4 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 Colts Neck. Useful comparison targets — same state, similar size, different fire profile.
1 departments report to NFIRS for incidents in Colts Neck.
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.