In 2025, fire departments serving Fanwood responded to 51 fire and hazmat incidents . Here's the full picture.
Electrical wiring/equipment problem, other lead by count. Building fires lead by dollars. Together the top five categories make up about 88% of all calls.
Jun peaks. Nov dips. Watch for the typical fall climb starting in October.
268 incidents 2021–2025. Peak year was 2024.
| Year | Incidents | YoY | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2021 | 44 | — | |
| 2022 | 59 | +34.1% | |
| 2023 | 49 | -16.9% | |
| 2024 | 65 | +32.7% | |
| 2025 | 51 | -21.5% |
For the 3 building fires Fanwood 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 | 12 | 30.8% | |
| 2 | Cooking area, kitchen | 5 | 12.8% | |
| 3 | Undetermined | 5 | 12.8% | |
| 4 | Engine area, running gear, wheel area | 4 | 10.3% | |
| 5 | Laundry area, wash house (laundry) | 3 | 7.7% | |
| 6 | Cargo/trunk area - all vehicles | 2 | 5.1% | |
| 7 | Highway, parking lot, street: on or near | 2 | 5.1% | |
| 8 | Other | 1 | 2.6% | |
| 9 | Function area, other | 1 | 2.6% | |
| 10 | Vehicle storage area; garage, carport | 1 | 2.6% | |
| 11 | All other areas | 3 | 7.7% |
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 Fanwood mix.
| # | Heat source | Count | Share | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Undetermined | 22 | 56.4% | |
| 2 | Heat from powered equipment, other | 3 | 7.7% | |
| 3 | Radiated, conducted heat from operating equipment | 3 | 7.7% | |
| 4 | Arcing | 3 | 7.7% | |
| 5 | Hot or smoldering object, other | 2 | 5.1% | |
| 6 | Heat, spark from friction | 2 | 5.1% | |
| 7 | Spark, ember or flame from operating equipment | 1 | 2.6% | |
| 8 | Hot ember or ash | 1 | 2.6% | |
| 9 | Cigarette | 1 | 2.6% | |
| 10 | Candle | 1 | 2.6% |
Per-capita rates let us compare apples to apples. Fanwood sits below the national average for incidents per resident.
Top 25 wildfires (1992+) in the FPA-FOD ignitions database, scaled by acres. 22,875 acres burned in this 50-mile radius. Each dot is a fire — bigger dots burned more land.
| Year | Cause | Acres | Distance | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2001 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 2,730 | 46.9 mi | |
| 2002 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 2,600 | 42.8 mi | |
| 2014 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 2,300 | 44.7 mi | |
| 2010 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 2,240 | 43.7 mi | |
| 2016 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 1,500 | 45.4 mi | |
| 2017 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 1,500 | 45.3 mi | |
| 1992 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 1,000 | 42.8 mi | |
| 1995 | Recreation and ceremony | 750 | 44.6 mi | |
| 1997 | Smoking | 702 | 46.6 mi | |
| 2016 | Recreation and ceremony | 641 | 39.6 mi | |
| 1999 | Arson/incendiarism | 623 | 45.5 mi | |
| 2016 | Recreation and ceremony | 552 | 42.5 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 | 07023 | 268 |
Six New Jersey cities with population within ±25% of Fanwood. 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.