In 2025, fire departments serving Laurel Lake responded to 32 fire and hazmat incidents . Here's the full picture.
Unauthorized burning lead by count. Building fires lead by dollars. Together the top five categories make up about 66% of all calls.
Mar peaks. Jan dips. Watch for the typical fall climb starting in October.
161 incidents 2021–2025. Peak year was 2024. $115K cumulative property loss.
| Year | Incidents | YoY | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2021 | 26 | — | |
| 2022 | 31 | +19.2% | |
| 2023 | 24 | -22.6% | |
| 2024 | 48 | +100.0% | |
| 2025 | 32 | -33.3% |
For the 5 building fires Laurel Lake departments responded to in 2025, here's how they were classified once investigators were finished.
NFIRS Area of Origin (AREA_ORIG) for the 43 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 | 16 | 37.2% | |
| 2 | Outside area, other | 8 | 18.6% | |
| 3 | Wildland, woods | 4 | 9.3% | |
| 4 | Bedroom - < 5 persons; included are jail or prison | 2 | 4.7% | |
| 5 | Open area - outside; included are farmland, field | 2 | 4.7% | |
| 6 | Other | 1 | 2.3% | |
| 7 | Function area, other | 1 | 2.3% | |
| 8 | Cooking area, kitchen | 1 | 2.3% | |
| 9 | Bathroom, checkroom, lavatory, locker room | 1 | 2.3% | |
| 10 | Laundry area, wash house (laundry) | 1 | 2.3% | |
| 11 | All other areas | 6 | 14.0% |
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 Laurel Lake mix.
| # | Heat source | Count | Share | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Undetermined | 36 | 83.7% | |
| 2 | Arcing | 2 | 4.7% | |
| 3 | Hot ember or ash | 2 | 4.7% | |
| 4 | Hot or smoldering object, other | 1 | 2.3% | |
| 5 | Heat from other open flame or smoking materials | 1 | 2.3% | |
| 6 | Cigarette lighter | 1 | 2.3% |
Per-capita rates let us compare apples to apples. Laurel Lake sits above the national average for incidents per resident.
Top 25 wildfires (1992+) in the FPA-FOD ignitions database, scaled by acres. 76,075 acres burned in this 50-mile radius. Each dot is a fire — bigger dots burned more land.
| Year | Cause | Acres | Distance | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2007 | Arson/incendiarism | 17,050 | 46.6 mi | |
| 1999 | Equipment and vehicle use | 11,765 | 41.3 mi | |
| 2019 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 11,638 | 43.5 mi | |
| 2017 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 3,577 | 32.1 mi | |
| 2017 | Natural | 3,477 | 35.5 mi | |
| 1992 | Arson/incendiarism | 2,900 | 45.5 mi | |
| 2007 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 2,450 | 32.3 mi | |
| 2020 | Arson/incendiarism | 2,107 | 23.6 mi | |
| 1995 | Arson/incendiarism | 2,000 | 22.6 mi | |
| 2008 | Arson/incendiarism | 1,950 | 31.5 mi | |
| 1997 | Arson/incendiarism | 1,900 | 30.3 mi | |
| 2001 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 1,600 | 43.6 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 Laurel Lake. Useful comparison targets — same state, similar size, different fire profile.
1 departments report to NFIRS for incidents in Laurel Lake.
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.