In 2025, fire departments serving Fair Haven responded to 31 fire and hazmat incidents — from cooking fires to gas leaks to a single $500K building blaze. Here's the full picture.
Power line down lead by count. Building fires lead by dollars. Together the top five categories make up about 78% of all calls.
Feb peaks. Jun dips. Watch for the typical fall climb starting in October.
142 incidents 2021–2025. Peak year was 2024. $625K cumulative property loss.
| Year | Incidents | YoY | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2021 | 20 | — | |
| 2022 | 30 | +50.0% | |
| 2023 | 29 | -3.3% | |
| 2024 | 32 | +10.3% | |
| 2025 | 31 | -3.1% |
For the 3 building fires Fair Haven departments responded to in 2025, here's how they were classified once investigators were finished.
NFIRS Area of Origin (AREA_ORIG) for the 39 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 | 13 | 33.3% | |
| 2 | Cooking area, kitchen | 7 | 17.9% | |
| 3 | Common room, den, family room, living room, lounge | 2 | 5.1% | |
| 4 | Function area, other | 2 | 5.1% | |
| 5 | Vehicle area, other | 2 | 5.1% | |
| 6 | Engine area, running gear, wheel area | 2 | 5.1% | |
| 7 | Open area - outside; included are farmland, field | 2 | 5.1% | |
| 8 | Corridor, mall | 1 | 2.6% | |
| 9 | Bathroom, checkroom, lavatory, locker room | 1 | 2.6% | |
| 10 | Storage area, other | 1 | 2.6% | |
| 11 | All other areas | 6 | 15.4% |
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 Fair Haven mix.
| # | Heat source | Count | Share | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Arcing | 8 | 20.5% | |
| 2 | Heat from powered equipment, other | 4 | 10.3% | |
| 3 | Spark, ember or flame from operating equipment | 4 | 10.3% | |
| 4 | Radiated, conducted heat from operating equipment | 4 | 10.3% | |
| 5 | Hot ember or ash | 3 | 7.7% | |
| 6 | Undetermined | 3 | 7.7% | |
| 7 | Hot or smoldering object, other | 2 | 5.1% | |
| 8 | Candle | 2 | 5.1% | |
| 9 | Heat source: other | 1 | 2.6% | |
| 10 | Fireworks | 1 | 2.6% | |
| 11 | All other sources | 7 | 17.9% |
Largest single-incident property losses reported by Fair Haven departments in 2025. These 2 fires alone account for 100% of the city's annual total.
| # | Property loss | Type | Severity | Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | $500,000 | Building fires | Major | Investigated |
| 2 | $4,000 | Mobile property (vehicle) fire, other | Significant | Investigated |
Per-capita rates let us compare apples to apples. Fair Haven sits below the national average for incidents per resident.
Top 25 wildfires (1992+) in the FPA-FOD ignitions database, scaled by acres. 85,198 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 | 34.1 mi | |
| 2007 | Arson/incendiarism | 17,050 | 47.4 mi | |
| 2019 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 11,638 | 46.3 mi | |
| 1992 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 5,284 | 38.5 mi | |
| 1992 | Arson/incendiarism | 4,832 | 38.5 mi | |
| 1992 | Arson/incendiarism | 2,900 | 43.5 mi | |
| 2001 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 2,730 | 30.9 mi | |
| 2002 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 2,600 | 33.4 mi | |
| 2014 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 2,300 | 34.5 mi | |
| 2010 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 2,240 | 34.9 mi | |
| 2001 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 1,600 | 47.9 mi | |
| 2016 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 1,500 | 35.5 mi |
Top 1 ZIP codes by NFIRS incident count across 2021–2025. Each ZIP has its own fire profile — dive in for neighborhood-level context.
| # | ZIP | 5-yr incidents | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 07704 | 142 |
Six New Jersey cities with population within ±25% of Fair Haven. 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.