In 2025, fire departments serving Manalapan responded to 330 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 56% of all calls.
May peaks. Sep dips. Watch for the typical fall climb starting in October.
1,080 incidents 2021–2025. Peak year was 2025. 1 civilian deaths.
| Year | Incidents | YoY | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2021 | 153 | — | |
| 2022 | 189 | +23.5% | |
| 2023 | 130 | -31.2% | |
| 2024 | 278 | +113.8% | |
| 2025 | 330 | +18.7% |
For the 27 building fires Manalapan departments responded to in 2025, here's how they were classified once investigators were finished.
NFIRS Area of Origin (AREA_ORIG) for the 88 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 | 23 | 26.1% | |
| 2 | Engine area, running gear, wheel area | 11 | 12.5% | |
| 3 | Cooking area, kitchen | 7 | 8.0% | |
| 4 | Undetermined | 7 | 8.0% | |
| 5 | Open area - outside; included are farmland, field | 6 | 6.8% | |
| 6 | Function area, other | 4 | 4.5% | |
| 7 | Vehicle storage area; garage, carport | 4 | 4.5% | |
| 8 | Vehicle area, other | 4 | 4.5% | |
| 9 | Highway, parking lot, street: on or near | 4 | 4.5% | |
| 10 | Other | 2 | 2.3% | |
| 11 | All other areas | 16 | 18.2% |
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 Manalapan mix.
| # | Heat source | Count | Share | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Undetermined | 44 | 50.0% | |
| 2 | Hot ember or ash | 13 | 14.8% | |
| 3 | Arcing | 10 | 11.4% | |
| 4 | Heat from direct flame, convection currents | 4 | 4.5% | |
| 5 | Heat from powered equipment, other | 3 | 3.4% | |
| 6 | Spark, ember or flame from operating equipment | 3 | 3.4% | |
| 7 | Cigarette | 3 | 3.4% | |
| 8 | Heat source: other | 2 | 2.3% | |
| 9 | Radiated, conducted heat from operating equipment | 1 | 1.1% | |
| 10 | Hot or smoldering object, other | 1 | 1.1% | |
| 11 | All other sources | 4 | 4.5% |
Per-capita rates let us compare apples to apples. Manalapan sits above the national average for incidents per resident.
Top 25 wildfires (1992+) in the FPA-FOD ignitions database, scaled by acres. 104,729 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 | 25.5 mi | |
| 2007 | Arson/incendiarism | 17,050 | 39.6 mi | |
| 1999 | Equipment and vehicle use | 11,765 | 40.6 mi | |
| 2019 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 11,638 | 35.7 mi | |
| 1992 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 5,284 | 30.4 mi | |
| 1992 | Arson/incendiarism | 4,832 | 31.5 mi | |
| 2017 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 3,577 | 44.3 mi | |
| 1992 | Arson/incendiarism | 2,900 | 30.0 mi | |
| 2001 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 2,730 | 21.8 mi | |
| 2002 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 2,600 | 19.2 mi | |
| 2007 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 2,450 | 43.2 mi | |
| 2014 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 2,300 | 20.8 mi |
Top 4 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 Manalapan. Useful comparison targets — same state, similar size, different fire profile.
1 departments report to NFIRS for incidents in Manalapan.
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.