In 2025, fire departments serving Vernon responded to 56 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 57% of all calls.
May peaks. Apr dips. Watch for the typical fall climb starting in October.
366 incidents 2021–2025. Peak year was 2022. 1 civilian deaths.
| Year | Incidents | YoY | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2021 | 81 | — | |
| 2022 | 95 | +17.3% | |
| 2023 | 67 | -29.5% | |
| 2024 | 67 | +0.0% | |
| 2025 | 56 | -16.4% |
For the 5 building fires Vernon departments responded to in 2025, here's how they were classified once investigators were finished.
NFIRS Area of Origin (AREA_ORIG) for the 85 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 | 13 | 15.3% | |
| 2 | Undetermined | 11 | 12.9% | |
| 3 | Outside area, other | 7 | 8.2% | |
| 4 | Wildland, woods | 7 | 8.2% | |
| 5 | Other | 6 | 7.1% | |
| 6 | Cooking area, kitchen | 4 | 4.7% | |
| 7 | Exterior balcony, unenclosed porch | 4 | 4.7% | |
| 8 | Exterior stairway, ramp, or fire escape | 3 | 3.5% | |
| 9 | Chute/container - trash, rubbish, waste | 3 | 3.5% | |
| 10 | Conduit, pipe, utility, or ventilation shaft | 3 | 3.5% | |
| 11 | All other areas | 24 | 28.2% |
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 Vernon mix.
| # | Heat source | Count | Share | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Undetermined | 54 | 63.5% | |
| 2 | Hot ember or ash | 6 | 7.1% | |
| 3 | Heat source: other | 4 | 4.7% | |
| 4 | Arcing | 3 | 3.5% | |
| 5 | Cigarette | 3 | 3.5% | |
| 6 | Heat from direct flame, convection currents | 3 | 3.5% | |
| 7 | Spark, ember or flame from operating equipment | 2 | 2.4% | |
| 8 | Hot or smoldering object, other | 2 | 2.4% | |
| 9 | Heat from other open flame or smoking materials | 2 | 2.4% | |
| 10 | Explosive, fireworks, other | 1 | 1.2% | |
| 11 | All other sources | 5 | 5.9% |
Per-capita rates let us compare apples to apples. Vernon sits below the national average for incidents per resident.
Top 25 wildfires (1992+) in the FPA-FOD ignitions database, scaled by acres. 29,999 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 | 36.2 mi | |
| 2008 | Smoking | 2,855 | 44.6 mi | |
| 2015 | Debris and open burning | 2,759 | 28.9 mi | |
| 2004 | Arson/incendiarism | 2,265 | 46.1 mi | |
| 2016 | Arson/incendiarism | 2,028 | 33.7 mi | |
| 2006 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 998 | 44.6 mi | |
| 2008 | Arson/incendiarism | 995 | 37.5 mi | |
| 2001 | Smoking | 866 | 43.9 mi | |
| 2020 | Arson/incendiarism | 812 | 43.6 mi | |
| 1995 | Recreation and ceremony | 750 | 34.6 mi | |
| 1999 | Smoking | 700 | 27.2 mi | |
| 2016 | Arson/incendiarism | 647 | 38.2 mi |
Top 10 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 Vernon. Useful comparison targets — same state, similar size, different fire profile.
1 departments report to NFIRS for incidents in Vernon.
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.