In 2025, fire departments serving Netcong responded to 34 fire and hazmat incidents . Here's the full picture.
Building fires lead by count. Building fires lead by dollars. Together the top five categories make up about 77% of all calls.
Jan peaks. Apr dips. Watch for the typical fall climb starting in October.
109 incidents 2021–2025. Peak year was 2025. $2K cumulative property loss.
| Year | Incidents | YoY | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2021 | 14 | — | |
| 2022 | 14 | +0.0% | |
| 2023 | 19 | +35.7% | |
| 2024 | 28 | +47.4% | |
| 2025 | 34 | +21.4% |
For the 11 building fires Netcong departments responded to in 2025, here's how they were classified once investigators were finished.
NFIRS Area of Origin (AREA_ORIG) for the 31 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 | 7 | 22.6% | |
| 2 | Other | 4 | 12.9% | |
| 3 | Outside area, other | 4 | 12.9% | |
| 4 | Office | 2 | 6.5% | |
| 5 | Heating room or area, water heater area | 2 | 6.5% | |
| 6 | Wall surface: exterior | 2 | 6.5% | |
| 7 | Vehicle area, other | 2 | 6.5% | |
| 8 | Open area - outside; included are farmland, field | 2 | 6.5% | |
| 9 | Laundry area, wash house (laundry) | 1 | 3.2% | |
| 10 | Chute/container - trash, rubbish, waste | 1 | 3.2% | |
| 11 | All other areas | 4 | 12.9% |
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 Netcong mix.
| # | Heat source | Count | Share | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Heat source: other | 6 | 19.4% | |
| 2 | Radiated, conducted heat from operating equipment | 5 | 16.1% | |
| 3 | Undetermined | 5 | 16.1% | |
| 4 | Heat from powered equipment, other | 3 | 9.7% | |
| 5 | Cigarette | 3 | 9.7% | |
| 6 | Spark, ember or flame from operating equipment | 2 | 6.5% | |
| 7 | Fireworks | 2 | 6.5% | |
| 8 | Cigarette lighter | 2 | 6.5% | |
| 9 | Hot or smoldering object, other | 1 | 3.2% | |
| 10 | Heat, spark from friction | 1 | 3.2% | |
| 11 | All other sources | 1 | 3.2% |
Per-capita rates let us compare apples to apples. Netcong sits above the national average for incidents per resident.
Top 25 wildfires (1992+) in the FPA-FOD ignitions database, scaled by acres. 22,168 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 | 33.2 mi | |
| 2004 | Arson/incendiarism | 2,265 | 39.1 mi | |
| 2008 | Arson/incendiarism | 995 | 36.1 mi | |
| 2020 | Arson/incendiarism | 812 | 36.8 mi | |
| 1995 | Recreation and ceremony | 750 | 21.7 mi | |
| 1999 | Smoking | 700 | 48.2 mi | |
| 2016 | Arson/incendiarism | 647 | 32.9 mi | |
| 2016 | Recreation and ceremony | 641 | 36.6 mi | |
| 1999 | Arson/incendiarism | 623 | 22.8 mi | |
| 2014 | Arson/incendiarism | 615 | 36.1 mi | |
| 2016 | Recreation and ceremony | 552 | 37.1 mi | |
| 1994 | Smoking | 500 | 20.3 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 Netcong. Useful comparison targets — same state, similar size, different fire profile.
1 departments report to NFIRS for incidents in Netcong.
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.