In 2025, fire departments serving Highland Lakes responded to 78 fire and hazmat incidents . 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 58% of all calls.
Feb peaks. Jul dips. Watch for the typical fall climb starting in October.
333 incidents 2021–2025. Peak year was 2024.
| Year | Incidents | YoY | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2021* | 31 | — | |
| 2022 | 55 | — | |
| 2023 | 59 | +7.3% | |
| 2024 | 110 | +86.4% | |
| 2025 | 78 | -29.1% |
* Well below Highland Lakes's usual volume. That almost always means one or more departments didn't submit a full year to NFIRS, not that fires dropped, so no year-over-year change is shown for it.
For the 7 building fires Highland Lakes departments responded to in 2025, here's how they were classified once investigators were finished.
NFIRS Area of Origin (AREA_ORIG) for the 50 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 | 15 | 30.0% | |
| 2 | Other | 8 | 16.0% | |
| 3 | Engine area, running gear, wheel area | 6 | 12.0% | |
| 4 | Courtyard, patio, porch, terrace | 4 | 8.0% | |
| 5 | Open area - outside; included are farmland, field | 4 | 8.0% | |
| 6 | Wildland, woods | 4 | 8.0% | |
| 7 | Duct: hvac, cable, exhaust, heating, or AC | 2 | 4.0% | |
| 8 | Exterior stairway, ramp, or fire escape | 1 | 2.0% | |
| 9 | Function area, other | 1 | 2.0% | |
| 10 | Cooking area, kitchen | 1 | 2.0% | |
| 11 | All other areas | 4 | 8.0% |
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 Highland Lakes mix.
| # | Heat source | Count | Share | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Undetermined | 37 | 74.0% | |
| 2 | Hot ember or ash | 10 | 20.0% | |
| 3 | Heat source: other | 2 | 4.0% | |
| 4 | Heat, spark from friction | 1 | 2.0% |
Per-capita rates let us compare apples to apples. Highland Lakes sits above the national average for incidents per resident.
Top 25 wildfires (1992+) in the FPA-FOD ignitions database, scaled by acres. 29,999 acres burned in this 50-mile radius. Each dot is a fire — bigger dots burned more land.
| Year | Cause | Acres | Distance | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2016 | Arson/incendiarism | 7,949 | 37.4 mi | |
| 2008 | Smoking | 2,855 | 46.0 mi | |
| 2015 | Debris and open burning | 2,759 | 30.6 mi | |
| 2004 | Arson/incendiarism | 2,265 | 47.1 mi | |
| 2016 | Arson/incendiarism | 2,028 | 35.2 mi | |
| 2006 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 998 | 46.0 mi | |
| 2008 | Arson/incendiarism | 995 | 38.9 mi | |
| 2001 | Smoking | 866 | 45.4 mi | |
| 2020 | Arson/incendiarism | 812 | 44.7 mi | |
| 1995 | Recreation and ceremony | 750 | 35.0 mi | |
| 1999 | Smoking | 700 | 27.0 mi | |
| 2016 | Arson/incendiarism | 647 | 39.3 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 Highland Lakes. 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.