In 2025, fire departments serving Penns Grove responded to 81 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. Jun dips. Watch for the typical fall climb starting in October.
226 incidents 2021–2025. Peak year was 2025. $15K cumulative property loss.
| Year | Incidents | YoY | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2021 | 28 | — | |
| 2022 | 32 | +14.3% | |
| 2023 | 37 | +15.6% | |
| 2024 | 48 | +29.7% | |
| 2025 | 81 | +68.8% |
For the 12 building fires Penns Grove 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 | 24 | 41.4% | |
| 2 | Undetermined | 7 | 12.1% | |
| 3 | Cooking area, kitchen | 6 | 10.3% | |
| 4 | Function area, other | 3 | 5.2% | |
| 5 | Vehicle area, other | 3 | 5.2% | |
| 6 | Bedroom - < 5 persons; included are jail or prison | 2 | 3.4% | |
| 7 | Bathroom, checkroom, lavatory, locker room | 2 | 3.4% | |
| 8 | Vacant structural area | 2 | 3.4% | |
| 9 | Egress/exit, other | 1 | 1.7% | |
| 10 | Common room, den, family room, living room, lounge | 1 | 1.7% | |
| 11 | All other areas | 7 | 12.1% |
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 Penns Grove mix.
| # | Heat source | Count | Share | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Undetermined | 32 | 55.2% | |
| 2 | Hot ember or ash | 4 | 6.9% | |
| 3 | Heat from undetermined smoking material | 4 | 6.9% | |
| 4 | Spark, ember or flame from operating equipment | 3 | 5.2% | |
| 5 | Heat from powered equipment, other | 2 | 3.4% | |
| 6 | Radiated, conducted heat from operating equipment | 2 | 3.4% | |
| 7 | Candle | 2 | 3.4% | |
| 8 | Heat source: other | 1 | 1.7% | |
| 9 | Arcing | 1 | 1.7% | |
| 10 | Heat, spark from friction | 1 | 1.7% | |
| 11 | All other sources | 6 | 10.3% |
Per-capita rates let us compare apples to apples. Penns Grove sits above the national average for incidents per resident.
Top 25 wildfires (1992+) in the FPA-FOD ignitions database, scaled by acres. 30,724 acres burned in this 50-mile radius. Each dot is a fire — bigger dots burned more land.
| Year | Cause | Acres | Distance | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2017 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 3,577 | 44.2 mi | |
| 1992 | Arson/incendiarism | 2,900 | 48.7 mi | |
| 2007 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 2,450 | 40.7 mi | |
| 2020 | Arson/incendiarism | 2,107 | 31.1 mi | |
| 1995 | Arson/incendiarism | 2,000 | 36.5 mi | |
| 2008 | Arson/incendiarism | 1,950 | 37.4 mi | |
| 1997 | Arson/incendiarism | 1,900 | 40.5 mi | |
| 2014 | Arson/incendiarism | 1,600 | 45.1 mi | |
| 2014 | Arson/incendiarism | 1,535 | 33.9 mi | |
| 2020 | Natural | 1,518 | 35.1 mi | |
| 2012 | Arson/incendiarism | 1,000 | 45.1 mi | |
| 2014 | Arson/incendiarism | 910 | 35.7 mi |
Top 1 ZIP codes by NFIRS incident count across 2021–2025. Each ZIP has its own fire profile — dive in for neighborhood-level context.
| # | ZIP | 5-yr incidents | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 08069 | 226 |
Six New Jersey cities with population within ±25% of Penns Grove. Useful comparison targets — same state, similar size, different fire profile.
1 departments report to NFIRS for incidents in Penns Grove.
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.