In 2025, fire departments serving Sussex responded to 27 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 81% of all calls.
Nov peaks. Jan dips. Watch for the typical fall climb starting in October.
172 incidents 2021–2025. Peak year was 2023.
| Year | Incidents | YoY | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2021 | 35 | — | |
| 2022 | 31 | -11.4% | |
| 2023 | 41 | +32.3% | |
| 2024 | 38 | -7.3% | |
| 2025 | 27 | -28.9% |
For the 4 building fires Sussex departments responded to in 2025, here's how they were classified once investigators were finished.
NFIRS Area of Origin (AREA_ORIG) for the 14 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 | Open area - outside; included are farmland, field | 3 | 21.4% | |
| 2 | Cooking area, kitchen | 2 | 14.3% | |
| 3 | Engine area, running gear, wheel area | 2 | 14.3% | |
| 4 | Exterior stairway, ramp, or fire escape | 1 | 7.1% | |
| 5 | Function area, other | 1 | 7.1% | |
| 6 | Wall assembly | 1 | 7.1% | |
| 7 | Outside area, other | 1 | 7.1% | |
| 8 | Highway, parking lot, street: on or near | 1 | 7.1% | |
| 9 | Wildland, woods | 1 | 7.1% | |
| 10 | Undetermined | 1 | 7.1% |
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 Sussex mix.
| # | Heat source | Count | Share | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Undetermined | 5 | 35.7% | |
| 2 | Heat source: other | 2 | 14.3% | |
| 3 | Cigarette | 2 | 14.3% | |
| 4 | Spark, ember or flame from operating equipment | 1 | 7.1% | |
| 5 | Radiated, conducted heat from operating equipment | 1 | 7.1% | |
| 6 | Hot or smoldering object, other | 1 | 7.1% | |
| 7 | Heat from other open flame or smoking materials | 1 | 7.1% | |
| 8 | Chemical reaction | 1 | 7.1% |
Per-capita rates let us compare apples to apples. Sussex sits above the national average for incidents per resident.
Top 25 wildfires (1992+) in the FPA-FOD ignitions database, scaled by acres. 29,874 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 | 29.8 mi | |
| 2008 | Smoking | 2,855 | 46.0 mi | |
| 2015 | Debris and open burning | 2,759 | 29.3 mi | |
| 2004 | Arson/incendiarism | 2,265 | 39.8 mi | |
| 2016 | Arson/incendiarism | 2,028 | 34.8 mi | |
| 2006 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 998 | 46.0 mi | |
| 2008 | Arson/incendiarism | 995 | 31.1 mi | |
| 2001 | Smoking | 866 | 45.0 mi | |
| 2020 | Arson/incendiarism | 812 | 37.4 mi | |
| 1995 | Recreation and ceremony | 750 | 29.2 mi | |
| 1999 | Smoking | 700 | 32.8 mi | |
| 2016 | Arson/incendiarism | 647 | 31.9 mi |
Top 4 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 Sussex. Useful comparison targets — same state, similar size, different fire profile.
2 departments report to NFIRS for incidents in Sussex.
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.