In 2025, fire departments serving Highlands responded to 57 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 81% of all calls.
May peaks. Jan dips. Watch for the typical fall climb starting in October.
220 incidents 2021–2025. Peak year was 2025.
| Year | Incidents | YoY | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2021 | 36 | — | |
| 2022 | 35 | -2.8% | |
| 2023 | 40 | +14.3% | |
| 2024 | 52 | +30.0% | |
| 2025 | 57 | +9.6% |
For the 3 building fires Highlands departments responded to in 2025, here's how they were classified once investigators were finished.
NFIRS Area of Origin (AREA_ORIG) for the 41 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 | 22.0% | |
| 2 | Outside area, other | 9 | 22.0% | |
| 3 | Courtyard, patio, porch, terrace | 4 | 9.8% | |
| 4 | Engine area, running gear, wheel area | 3 | 7.3% | |
| 5 | Highway, parking lot, street: on or near | 3 | 7.3% | |
| 6 | Common room, den, family room, living room, lounge | 2 | 4.9% | |
| 7 | Exterior stairway, ramp, or fire escape | 1 | 2.4% | |
| 8 | Bedroom - < 5 persons; included are jail or prison | 1 | 2.4% | |
| 9 | Storage area, other | 1 | 2.4% | |
| 10 | Vehicle storage area; garage, carport | 1 | 2.4% | |
| 11 | All other areas | 7 | 17.1% |
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 Highlands mix.
| # | Heat source | Count | Share | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Hot ember or ash | 10 | 24.4% | |
| 2 | Undetermined | 8 | 19.5% | |
| 3 | Spark, ember or flame from operating equipment | 5 | 12.2% | |
| 4 | Arcing | 5 | 12.2% | |
| 5 | Radiated, conducted heat from operating equipment | 3 | 7.3% | |
| 6 | Hot or smoldering object, other | 2 | 4.9% | |
| 7 | Cigarette | 2 | 4.9% | |
| 8 | Sunlight | 2 | 4.9% | |
| 9 | Fireworks | 1 | 2.4% | |
| 10 | Heat from other open flame or smoking materials | 1 | 2.4% | |
| 11 | All other sources | 2 | 4.9% |
Per-capita rates let us compare apples to apples. Highlands sits above the national average for incidents per resident.
Top 25 wildfires (1992+) in the FPA-FOD ignitions database, scaled by acres. 55,343 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 | 37.9 mi | |
| 1992 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 5,284 | 42.1 mi | |
| 1992 | Arson/incendiarism | 4,832 | 42.1 mi | |
| 1992 | Arson/incendiarism | 2,900 | 47.4 mi | |
| 2001 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 2,730 | 34.7 mi | |
| 2002 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 2,600 | 37.2 mi | |
| 2014 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 2,300 | 38.4 mi | |
| 2010 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 2,240 | 38.8 mi | |
| 2016 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 1,500 | 39.4 mi | |
| 2017 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 1,500 | 38.4 mi | |
| 2002 | Recreation and ceremony | 1,277 | 35.2 mi | |
| 2015 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 1,012 | 44.4 mi |
Top 2 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 Highlands. Useful comparison targets — same state, similar size, different fire profile.
1 departments report to NFIRS for incidents in Highlands.
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.