In 2025, fire departments serving Elizabeth responded to 44 fire and hazmat incidents — from cooking fires to gas leaks to a single $61K building blaze. Here's the full picture.
Building fires lead by count. Building fires lead by dollars. Together the top five categories make up about 70% of all calls.
Jan peaks. Nov dips. Watch for the typical fall climb starting in October.
339 incidents 2021–2025. Peak year was 2021. $83K cumulative property loss. 2 civilian deaths.
| Year | Incidents | YoY | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2021 | 75 | — | |
| 2022 | 75 | +0.0% | |
| 2023 | 70 | -6.7% | |
| 2024 | 75 | +7.1% | |
| 2025 | 44 | -41.3% |
For the 12 building fires Elizabeth departments responded to in 2025, here's how they were classified once investigators were finished.
NFIRS Area of Origin (AREA_ORIG) for the 35 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 | Cooking area, kitchen | 9 | 25.7% | |
| 2 | Outside area, other | 5 | 14.3% | |
| 3 | Structural area, other | 3 | 8.6% | |
| 4 | Bedroom - < 5 persons; included are jail or prison | 2 | 5.7% | |
| 5 | Undetermined | 2 | 5.7% | |
| 6 | Other | 1 | 2.9% | |
| 7 | Exterior stairway, ramp, or fire escape | 1 | 2.9% | |
| 8 | Entrance way, lobby | 1 | 2.9% | |
| 9 | Laundry area, wash house (laundry) | 1 | 2.9% | |
| 10 | Closet | 1 | 2.9% | |
| 11 | All other areas | 9 | 25.7% |
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 Elizabeth mix.
| # | Heat source | Count | Share | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Undetermined | 12 | 34.3% | |
| 2 | Arcing | 7 | 20.0% | |
| 3 | Heat source: other | 3 | 8.6% | |
| 4 | Spark, ember or flame from operating equipment | 2 | 5.7% | |
| 5 | Radiated, conducted heat from operating equipment | 2 | 5.7% | |
| 6 | Match | 2 | 5.7% | |
| 7 | Hot or smoldering object, other | 1 | 2.9% | |
| 8 | Heat, spark from friction | 1 | 2.9% | |
| 9 | Hot ember or ash | 1 | 2.9% | |
| 10 | Heat from other open flame or smoking materials | 1 | 2.9% | |
| 11 | All other sources | 3 | 8.6% |
Largest single-incident property losses reported by Elizabeth departments in 2025. These 2 fires alone account for 100% of the city's annual total.
| # | Property loss | Type | Severity | Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | $61,300 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
| 2 | $21,633 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
Per-capita rates let us compare apples to apples. Elizabeth sits above the national average for incidents per resident.
5 fire-related casualties recorded in NFIRS Module 11 across the 2021–2025 window. Age, gender, and severity are coarse-binned — no individual identification possible.
| Age | Count | |
|---|---|---|
| 0-9 | 1 | |
| 10-19 | 0 | |
| 20-29 | 1 | |
| 30-39 | 2 | |
| 40-49 | 0 | |
| 50-59 | 0 | |
| 60-69 | 0 | |
| 70-79 | 0 | |
| 80+ | 1 |
Top 25 wildfires (1992+) in the FPA-FOD ignitions database, scaled by acres. 3,774 acres burned in this 50-mile radius. Each dot is a fire — bigger dots burned more land.
| Year | Cause | Acres | Distance | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2006 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 935 | 24.2 mi | |
| 2012 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 741 | 28.8 mi | |
| 2017 | Arson/incendiarism | 282 | 43.7 mi | |
| 2005 | Arson/incendiarism | 263 | 43.1 mi | |
| 2008 | Recreation and ceremony | 193 | 36.1 mi | |
| 2015 | Arson/incendiarism | 184 | 42.6 mi | |
| 2002 | Railroad operations and maintenance | 168 | 44.5 mi | |
| 2006 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 109 | 34.0 mi | |
| 2012 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 100 | 24.4 mi | |
| 2015 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 90 | 22.4 mi | |
| 2008 | Debris and open burning | 75 | 36.1 mi | |
| 2020 | Debris and open burning | 74 | 27.8 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 Pennsylvania cities with population within ±25% of Elizabeth. Useful comparison targets — same state, similar size, different fire profile.
5 departments report to NFIRS for incidents in Elizabeth.
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.