In 2025, fire departments serving West Caldwell responded to 10 fire and hazmat incidents . Here's the full picture.
Incomplete 2025 data. West Caldwell's departments reported 10 incidents to NFIRS for 2025, against about 57 in a typical year, so 2025 figures on this page undercount. The 2021–2025 totals are the better guide.
Gas leak (natural gas or LPG) lead by count. Building fires lead by dollars. Together the top five categories make up about 90% of all calls.
Jan peaks. Feb dips. Watch for the typical fall climb starting in October.
283 incidents 2021–2025. Peak year was 2024. $1.0M cumulative property loss.
| Year | Incidents | YoY | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2021 | 37 | — | |
| 2022 | 113 | +205.4% | |
| 2023* | 7 | — | |
| 2024 | 116 | — | |
| 2025* | 10 | — |
* Well below West Caldwell's usual volume. That almost always means one or more departments didn't submit a full year to NFIRS, not that fires dropped, so no year-over-year change is shown for it.
For the 0 building fires West Caldwell departments responded to in 2025, here's how they were classified once investigators were finished.
NFIRS Area of Origin (AREA_ORIG) for the 21 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 | Highway, parking lot, street: on or near | 5 | 23.8% | |
| 2 | Engine area, running gear, wheel area | 3 | 14.3% | |
| 3 | Outside area, other | 2 | 9.5% | |
| 4 | Courtyard, patio, porch, terrace | 2 | 9.5% | |
| 5 | Open area - outside; included are farmland, field | 2 | 9.5% | |
| 6 | Wildland, woods | 2 | 9.5% | |
| 7 | Other | 1 | 4.8% | |
| 8 | Structural area, other | 1 | 4.8% | |
| 9 | Operator/passenger area of transportation equip. | 1 | 4.8% | |
| 10 | Cargo/trunk area - all vehicles | 1 | 4.8% | |
| 11 | All other areas | 1 | 4.8% |
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 West Caldwell mix.
| # | Heat source | Count | Share | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Hot ember or ash | 6 | 28.6% | |
| 2 | Undetermined | 6 | 28.6% | |
| 3 | Hot or smoldering object, other | 3 | 14.3% | |
| 4 | Radiated, conducted heat from operating equipment | 2 | 9.5% | |
| 5 | Cigarette lighter | 2 | 9.5% | |
| 6 | Heat from powered equipment, other | 1 | 4.8% | |
| 7 | Match | 1 | 4.8% |
Per-capita rates let us compare apples to apples. West Caldwell sits below the national average for incidents per resident.
Top 25 wildfires (1992+) in the FPA-FOD ignitions database, scaled by acres. 10,002 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 | 43.0 mi | |
| 1999 | Smoking | 700 | 38.4 mi | |
| 2016 | Recreation and ceremony | 641 | 24.6 mi | |
| 1999 | Arson/incendiarism | 623 | 44.1 mi | |
| 2016 | Recreation and ceremony | 552 | 27.4 mi | |
| 1994 | Smoking | 500 | 34.0 mi | |
| 2001 | Arson/incendiarism | 485 | 27.1 mi | |
| 2012 | Smoking | 481 | 33.0 mi | |
| 2010 | Firearms and explosives use | 475 | 25.0 mi | |
| 1999 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 468 | 38.4 mi | |
| 2006 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 450 | 38.4 mi | |
| 1999 | Recreation and ceremony | 410 | 32.0 mi |
Top 2 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 West Caldwell. Useful comparison targets — same state, similar size, different fire profile.
1 departments report to NFIRS for incidents in West Caldwell.
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.