In 2025, fire departments serving Totowa responded to 134 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 72% of all calls.
Nov peaks. Dec dips. Watch for the typical fall climb starting in October.
640 incidents 2021–2025. Peak year was 2024. $60K cumulative property loss.
| Year | Incidents | YoY | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2021 | 122 | — | |
| 2022 | 120 | -1.6% | |
| 2023 | 126 | +5.0% | |
| 2024 | 138 | +9.5% | |
| 2025 | 134 | -2.9% |
For the 10 building fires Totowa departments responded to in 2025, here's how they were classified once investigators were finished.
NFIRS Area of Origin (AREA_ORIG) for the 140 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 | Engine area, running gear, wheel area | 45 | 32.1% | |
| 2 | Highway, parking lot, street: on or near | 23 | 16.4% | |
| 3 | Courtyard, patio, porch, terrace | 19 | 13.6% | |
| 4 | Open area - outside; included are farmland, field | 12 | 8.6% | |
| 5 | Vehicle storage area; garage, carport | 5 | 3.6% | |
| 6 | Cooking area, kitchen | 4 | 2.9% | |
| 7 | Operator/passenger area of transportation equip. | 3 | 2.1% | |
| 8 | Cargo/trunk area - all vehicles | 3 | 2.1% | |
| 9 | Bedroom - < 5 persons; included are jail or prison | 2 | 1.4% | |
| 10 | Laundry area, wash house (laundry) | 2 | 1.4% | |
| 11 | All other areas | 22 | 15.7% |
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 Totowa mix.
| # | Heat source | Count | Share | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Undetermined | 96 | 68.6% | |
| 2 | Radiated, conducted heat from operating equipment | 15 | 10.7% | |
| 3 | Heat from powered equipment, other | 4 | 2.9% | |
| 4 | Arcing | 4 | 2.9% | |
| 5 | Radiated heat from another fire | 3 | 2.1% | |
| 6 | Hot ember or ash | 2 | 1.4% | |
| 7 | Heat from other open flame or smoking materials | 2 | 1.4% | |
| 8 | Cigarette | 2 | 1.4% | |
| 9 | Match | 2 | 1.4% | |
| 10 | Cigarette lighter | 2 | 1.4% | |
| 11 | All other sources | 8 | 5.7% |
Per-capita rates let us compare apples to apples. Totowa sits above the national average for incidents per resident.
Top 25 wildfires (1992+) in the FPA-FOD ignitions database, scaled by acres. 10,297 acres burned in this 50-mile radius. Each dot is a fire — bigger dots burned more land.
| Year | Cause | Acres | Distance | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1995 | Recreation and ceremony | 750 | 46.1 mi | |
| 1999 | Smoking | 700 | 33.4 mi | |
| 2016 | Recreation and ceremony | 641 | 19.6 mi | |
| 1999 | Arson/incendiarism | 623 | 47.3 mi | |
| 2016 | Recreation and ceremony | 552 | 22.8 mi | |
| 1994 | Smoking | 500 | 34.7 mi | |
| 2001 | Arson/incendiarism | 485 | 22.6 mi | |
| 2012 | Smoking | 481 | 27.9 mi | |
| 2010 | Firearms and explosives use | 475 | 29.3 mi | |
| 1999 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 468 | 33.4 mi | |
| 2006 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 450 | 42.0 mi | |
| 1999 | Recreation and ceremony | 410 | 26.9 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 Totowa. Useful comparison targets — same state, similar size, different fire profile.
1 departments report to NFIRS for incidents in Totowa.
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.