In 2025, fire departments serving New Providence responded to 110 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 70% of all calls.
Jan peaks. Dec dips. Watch for the typical fall climb starting in October.
521 incidents 2021–2025. Peak year was 2024. $2.1M cumulative property loss.
| Year | Incidents | YoY | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2021 | 86 | — | |
| 2022 | 83 | -3.5% | |
| 2023 | 109 | +31.3% | |
| 2024 | 133 | +22.0% | |
| 2025 | 110 | -17.3% |
For the 12 building fires New Providence departments responded to in 2025, here's how they were classified once investigators were finished.
NFIRS Area of Origin (AREA_ORIG) for the 58 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 | 14 | 24.1% | |
| 2 | Undetermined | 10 | 17.2% | |
| 3 | Cooking area, kitchen | 7 | 12.1% | |
| 4 | Engine area, running gear, wheel area | 4 | 6.9% | |
| 5 | Function area, other | 3 | 5.2% | |
| 6 | Wall surface: exterior | 3 | 5.2% | |
| 7 | Other | 2 | 3.4% | |
| 8 | Common room, den, family room, living room, lounge | 2 | 3.4% | |
| 9 | Bedroom - < 5 persons; included are jail or prison | 2 | 3.4% | |
| 10 | Highway, parking lot, street: on or near | 2 | 3.4% | |
| 11 | All other areas | 9 | 15.5% |
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 New Providence mix.
| # | Heat source | Count | Share | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Undetermined | 32 | 55.2% | |
| 2 | Hot or smoldering object, other | 7 | 12.1% | |
| 3 | Arcing | 6 | 10.3% | |
| 4 | Heat from powered equipment, other | 5 | 8.6% | |
| 5 | Spark, ember or flame from operating equipment | 2 | 3.4% | |
| 6 | Heat from other open flame or smoking materials | 2 | 3.4% | |
| 7 | Heat source: other | 1 | 1.7% | |
| 8 | Chemical reaction | 1 | 1.7% | |
| 9 | Radiated heat from another fire | 1 | 1.7% | |
| 10 | Multiple heat sources including multiple ignitions | 1 | 1.7% |
Per-capita rates let us compare apples to apples. New Providence sits above the national average for incidents per resident.
Top 25 wildfires (1992+) in the FPA-FOD ignitions database, scaled by acres. 19,961 acres burned in this 50-mile radius. Each dot is a fire — bigger dots burned more land.
| Year | Cause | Acres | Distance | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2002 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 2,600 | 46.6 mi | |
| 2014 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 2,300 | 48.6 mi | |
| 2010 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 2,240 | 47.5 mi | |
| 2016 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 1,500 | 49.3 mi | |
| 2017 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 1,500 | 49.2 mi | |
| 1992 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 1,000 | 46.7 mi | |
| 1995 | Recreation and ceremony | 750 | 41.7 mi | |
| 2016 | Recreation and ceremony | 641 | 36.3 mi | |
| 1999 | Arson/incendiarism | 623 | 42.7 mi | |
| 2016 | Recreation and ceremony | 552 | 39.0 mi | |
| 2014 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 536 | 47.1 mi | |
| 1994 | Smoking | 500 | 38.8 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 New Providence. Useful comparison targets — same state, similar size, different fire profile.
1 departments report to NFIRS for incidents in New Providence.
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.