In 2025, fire departments serving Morris Plains responded to 96 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 66% of all calls.
May peaks. Apr dips. Watch for the typical fall climb starting in October.
626 incidents 2021–2025. Peak year was 2022. $651K cumulative property loss.
| Year | Incidents | YoY | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2021 | 97 | — | |
| 2022 | 158 | +62.9% | |
| 2023 | 146 | -7.6% | |
| 2024 | 129 | -11.6% | |
| 2025 | 96 | -25.6% |
For the 2 building fires Morris Plains departments responded to in 2025, here's how they were classified once investigators were finished.
NFIRS Area of Origin (AREA_ORIG) for the 72 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 | Engine area, running gear, wheel area | 13 | 18.1% | |
| 2 | Outside area, other | 13 | 18.1% | |
| 3 | Open area - outside; included are farmland, field | 7 | 9.7% | |
| 4 | Cooking area, kitchen | 6 | 8.3% | |
| 5 | Wildland, woods | 4 | 5.6% | |
| 6 | Other | 3 | 4.2% | |
| 7 | Vehicle area, other | 3 | 4.2% | |
| 8 | Undetermined | 3 | 4.2% | |
| 9 | Exterior balcony, unenclosed porch | 2 | 2.8% | |
| 10 | Cargo/trunk area - all vehicles | 2 | 2.8% | |
| 11 | All other areas | 16 | 22.2% |
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 Morris Plains mix.
| # | Heat source | Count | Share | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Undetermined | 36 | 50.0% | |
| 2 | Heat source: other | 5 | 6.9% | |
| 3 | Heat from powered equipment, other | 4 | 5.6% | |
| 4 | Radiated, conducted heat from operating equipment | 4 | 5.6% | |
| 5 | Hot ember or ash | 4 | 5.6% | |
| 6 | Heat from other open flame or smoking materials | 4 | 5.6% | |
| 7 | Arcing | 3 | 4.2% | |
| 8 | Cigarette | 2 | 2.8% | |
| 9 | Cigarette lighter | 2 | 2.8% | |
| 10 | Flame/torch used for lighting | 2 | 2.8% | |
| 11 | All other sources | 6 | 8.3% |
Per-capita rates let us compare apples to apples. Morris Plains sits above the national average for incidents per resident.
5 fire-related casualties recorded in NFIRS Module 11 across the 2021–2025 window. Age, gender, and severity are coarse-binned — no individual identification possible.
| Age | Count | |
|---|---|---|
| 0-9 | 0 | |
| 10-19 | 1 | |
| 20-29 | 0 | |
| 30-39 | 1 | |
| 40-49 | 2 | |
| 50-59 | 1 | |
| 60-69 | 0 | |
| 70-79 | 0 | |
| 80+ | 0 |
Top 25 wildfires (1992+) in the FPA-FOD ignitions database, scaled by acres. 19,972 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 | 45.0 mi | |
| 2008 | Arson/incendiarism | 995 | 47.8 mi | |
| 2020 | Arson/incendiarism | 812 | 49.2 mi | |
| 1995 | Recreation and ceremony | 750 | 34.2 mi | |
| 1999 | Smoking | 700 | 43.7 mi | |
| 2016 | Arson/incendiarism | 647 | 45.1 mi | |
| 2016 | Recreation and ceremony | 641 | 30.5 mi | |
| 1999 | Arson/incendiarism | 623 | 35.3 mi | |
| 2014 | Arson/incendiarism | 615 | 47.8 mi | |
| 2016 | Recreation and ceremony | 552 | 32.3 mi | |
| 1994 | Smoking | 500 | 28.7 mi | |
| 2001 | Arson/incendiarism | 485 | 31.4 mi |
Top 5 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 Morris Plains. Useful comparison targets — same state, similar size, different fire profile.
1 departments report to NFIRS for incidents in Morris Plains.
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.