In 2025, fire departments serving Lake Hiawatha responded to 90 fire and hazmat incidents — from cooking fires to gas leaks to a single $2K 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 75% of all calls.
Feb peaks. Dec dips. Watch for the typical fall climb starting in October.
302 incidents 2021–2025. Peak year was 2025. $2K cumulative property loss.
| Year | Incidents | YoY | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2021 | 42 | — | |
| 2022 | 51 | +21.4% | |
| 2023 | 46 | -9.8% | |
| 2024 | 73 | +58.7% | |
| 2025 | 90 | +23.3% |
For the 6 building fires Lake Hiawatha departments responded to in 2025, here's how they were classified once investigators were finished.
NFIRS Area of Origin (AREA_ORIG) for the 53 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 | 17 | 32.1% | |
| 2 | Open area - outside; included are farmland, field | 8 | 15.1% | |
| 3 | Courtyard, patio, porch, terrace | 7 | 13.2% | |
| 4 | Cooking area, kitchen | 3 | 5.7% | |
| 5 | Chute/container - trash, rubbish, waste | 3 | 5.7% | |
| 6 | Common room, den, family room, living room, lounge | 2 | 3.8% | |
| 7 | Storage room, area, tank, or bin | 2 | 3.8% | |
| 8 | Wall surface: exterior | 2 | 3.8% | |
| 9 | Vehicle area, other | 2 | 3.8% | |
| 10 | Engine area, running gear, wheel area | 2 | 3.8% | |
| 11 | All other areas | 5 | 9.4% |
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 Lake Hiawatha mix.
| # | Heat source | Count | Share | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Cigarette lighter | 11 | 20.8% | |
| 2 | Undetermined | 11 | 20.8% | |
| 3 | Spark, ember or flame from operating equipment | 6 | 11.3% | |
| 4 | Heat source: other | 4 | 7.5% | |
| 5 | Heat from powered equipment, other | 3 | 5.7% | |
| 6 | Arcing | 3 | 5.7% | |
| 7 | Cigarette | 3 | 5.7% | |
| 8 | Flying brand, ember, spark | 3 | 5.7% | |
| 9 | Radiated, conducted heat from operating equipment | 2 | 3.8% | |
| 10 | Match | 2 | 3.8% | |
| 11 | All other sources | 5 | 9.4% |
Largest single-incident property losses reported by Lake Hiawatha departments in 2025. These 1 fires alone account for 100% of the city's annual total.
| # | Property loss | Type | Severity | Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | $2,000 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
Per-capita rates let us compare apples to apples. Lake Hiawatha sits above the national average for incidents per resident.
Top 25 wildfires (1992+) in the FPA-FOD ignitions database, scaled by acres. 18,468 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 | 47.6 mi | |
| 1995 | Recreation and ceremony | 750 | 38.1 mi | |
| 1999 | Smoking | 700 | 38.4 mi | |
| 2016 | Arson/incendiarism | 647 | 48.0 mi | |
| 2016 | Recreation and ceremony | 641 | 24.9 mi | |
| 1999 | Arson/incendiarism | 623 | 39.3 mi | |
| 2016 | Recreation and ceremony | 552 | 27.1 mi | |
| 1994 | Smoking | 500 | 29.3 mi | |
| 2001 | Arson/incendiarism | 485 | 26.3 mi | |
| 2012 | Smoking | 481 | 33.3 mi | |
| 2010 | Firearms and explosives use | 475 | 27.3 mi | |
| 1999 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 468 | 38.4 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 Lake Hiawatha. Useful comparison targets — same state, similar size, different fire profile.
1 departments report to NFIRS for incidents in Lake Hiawatha.
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.