In 2025, fire departments serving Short Hills responded to 88 fire and hazmat incidents . Here's the full picture.
Power line down lead by count. Building fires lead by dollars. Together the top five categories make up about 70% of all calls.
Jan peaks. Sep dips. Watch for the typical fall climb starting in October.
478 incidents 2021–2025. Peak year was 2023.
| Year | Incidents | YoY | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2021 | 81 | — | |
| 2022 | 63 | -22.2% | |
| 2023 | 124 | +96.8% | |
| 2024 | 122 | -1.6% | |
| 2025 | 88 | -27.9% |
For the 2 building fires Short Hills departments responded to in 2025, here's how they were classified once investigators were finished.
NFIRS Area of Origin (AREA_ORIG) for the 61 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 | 16 | 26.2% | |
| 2 | Engine area, running gear, wheel area | 9 | 14.8% | |
| 3 | Outside area, other | 9 | 14.8% | |
| 4 | Highway, parking lot, street: on or near | 4 | 6.6% | |
| 5 | Undetermined | 4 | 6.6% | |
| 6 | Cargo/trunk area - all vehicles | 3 | 4.9% | |
| 7 | Open area - outside; included are farmland, field | 3 | 4.9% | |
| 8 | Common room, den, family room, living room, lounge | 2 | 3.3% | |
| 9 | Exterior, exposed surface | 2 | 3.3% | |
| 10 | Other | 1 | 1.6% | |
| 11 | All other areas | 8 | 13.1% |
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 Short Hills mix.
| # | Heat source | Count | Share | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Undetermined | 31 | 50.8% | |
| 2 | Radiated, conducted heat from operating equipment | 8 | 13.1% | |
| 3 | Heat from powered equipment, other | 3 | 4.9% | |
| 4 | Arcing | 3 | 4.9% | |
| 5 | Hot or smoldering object, other | 3 | 4.9% | |
| 6 | Hot ember or ash | 3 | 4.9% | |
| 7 | Cigarette | 3 | 4.9% | |
| 8 | Spark, ember or flame from operating equipment | 2 | 3.3% | |
| 9 | Heat from direct flame, convection currents | 2 | 3.3% | |
| 10 | Molten, hot material | 1 | 1.6% | |
| 11 | All other sources | 2 | 3.3% |
Per-capita rates let us compare apples to apples. Short Hills sits below the national average for incidents per resident.
Top 25 wildfires (1992+) in the FPA-FOD ignitions database, scaled by acres. 13,231 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 | 49.9 mi | |
| 1992 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 1,000 | 50.0 mi | |
| 1995 | Recreation and ceremony | 750 | 44.0 mi | |
| 1999 | Smoking | 700 | 46.0 mi | |
| 2016 | Recreation and ceremony | 641 | 32.2 mi | |
| 1999 | Arson/incendiarism | 623 | 45.0 mi | |
| 2016 | Recreation and ceremony | 552 | 35.2 mi | |
| 1994 | Smoking | 500 | 38.7 mi | |
| 2001 | Arson/incendiarism | 485 | 34.8 mi | |
| 2012 | Smoking | 481 | 40.6 mi | |
| 2010 | Firearms and explosives use | 475 | 17.3 mi | |
| 1999 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 468 | 46.0 mi |
Top 3 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 Short Hills. Useful comparison targets — same state, similar size, different fire profile.
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.