In 2025, fire departments serving Spring Lake Heights responded to 35 fire and hazmat incidents . Here's the full picture.
Arcing, shorted electrical equipment lead by count. Building fires lead by dollars. Together the top five categories make up about 74% of all calls.
Dec peaks. Mar dips. Watch for the typical fall climb starting in October.
148 incidents 2021–2025. Peak year was 2024.
| Year | Incidents | YoY | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2021 | 25 | — | |
| 2022 | 27 | +8.0% | |
| 2023 | 18 | -33.3% | |
| 2024 | 43 | +138.9% | |
| 2025 | 35 | -18.6% |
For the 1 building fires Spring Lake Heights departments responded to in 2025, here's how they were classified once investigators were finished.
NFIRS Area of Origin (AREA_ORIG) for the 34 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 | 20.6% | |
| 2 | Outside area, other | 7 | 20.6% | |
| 3 | Laundry area, wash house (laundry) | 3 | 8.8% | |
| 4 | Highway, parking lot, street: on or near | 3 | 8.8% | |
| 5 | Other | 2 | 5.9% | |
| 6 | Bedroom - < 5 persons; included are jail or prison | 2 | 5.9% | |
| 7 | Engine area, running gear, wheel area | 2 | 5.9% | |
| 8 | Entrance way, lobby | 1 | 2.9% | |
| 9 | Function area, other | 1 | 2.9% | |
| 10 | Bathroom, checkroom, lavatory, locker room | 1 | 2.9% | |
| 11 | All other areas | 5 | 14.7% |
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 Spring Lake Heights mix.
| # | Heat source | Count | Share | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Undetermined | 16 | 47.1% | |
| 2 | Radiated, conducted heat from operating equipment | 6 | 17.6% | |
| 3 | Heat source: other | 3 | 8.8% | |
| 4 | Heat from powered equipment, other | 2 | 5.9% | |
| 5 | Arcing | 2 | 5.9% | |
| 6 | Hot or smoldering object, other | 2 | 5.9% | |
| 7 | Hot ember or ash | 1 | 2.9% | |
| 8 | Fireworks | 1 | 2.9% | |
| 9 | Match | 1 | 2.9% |
Per-capita rates let us compare apples to apples. Spring Lake Heights sits below the national average for incidents per resident.
Top 25 wildfires (1992+) in the FPA-FOD ignitions database, scaled by acres. 104,729 acres burned in this 50-mile radius. Each dot is a fire — bigger dots burned more land.
| Year | Cause | Acres | Distance | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1995 | Arson/incendiarism | 19,225 | 21.7 mi | |
| 2007 | Arson/incendiarism | 17,050 | 33.8 mi | |
| 1999 | Equipment and vehicle use | 11,765 | 37.3 mi | |
| 2019 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 11,638 | 34.1 mi | |
| 1992 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 5,284 | 25.4 mi | |
| 1992 | Arson/incendiarism | 4,832 | 25.0 mi | |
| 2017 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 3,577 | 45.4 mi | |
| 1992 | Arson/incendiarism | 2,900 | 33.7 mi | |
| 2001 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 2,730 | 19.2 mi | |
| 2002 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 2,600 | 25.5 mi | |
| 2007 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 2,450 | 46.0 mi | |
| 2014 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 2,300 | 25.8 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 | 07762 | 148 |
Six New Jersey cities with population within ±25% of Spring Lake Heights. Useful comparison targets — same state, similar size, different fire profile.
1 departments report to NFIRS for incidents in Spring Lake Heights.
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.