In 2025, fire departments serving West Windsor responded to 141 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 70% of all calls.
Dec peaks. Feb dips. Watch for the typical fall climb starting in October.
637 incidents 2021–2025. Peak year was 2024. $253K cumulative property loss.
| Year | Incidents | YoY | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2021 | 119 | — | |
| 2022 | 109 | -8.4% | |
| 2023 | 102 | -6.4% | |
| 2024 | 166 | +62.7% | |
| 2025 | 141 | -15.1% |
For the 21 building fires West Windsor departments responded to in 2025, here's how they were classified once investigators were finished.
NFIRS Area of Origin (AREA_ORIG) for the 82 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 | Outside area, other | 13 | 15.9% | |
| 2 | Cooking area, kitchen | 9 | 11.0% | |
| 3 | Undetermined | 9 | 11.0% | |
| 4 | Engine area, running gear, wheel area | 7 | 8.5% | |
| 5 | Highway, parking lot, street: on or near | 7 | 8.5% | |
| 6 | Wildland, woods | 7 | 8.5% | |
| 7 | Open area - outside; included are farmland, field | 5 | 6.1% | |
| 8 | Bathroom, checkroom, lavatory, locker room | 3 | 3.7% | |
| 9 | Vehicle area, other | 3 | 3.7% | |
| 10 | Courtyard, patio, porch, terrace | 3 | 3.7% | |
| 11 | All other areas | 16 | 19.5% |
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 Windsor mix.
| # | Heat source | Count | Share | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Undetermined | 45 | 54.9% | |
| 2 | Heat from powered equipment, other | 13 | 15.9% | |
| 3 | Heat source: other | 4 | 4.9% | |
| 4 | Hot or smoldering object, other | 4 | 4.9% | |
| 5 | Sunlight | 4 | 4.9% | |
| 6 | Arcing | 3 | 3.7% | |
| 7 | Hot ember or ash | 2 | 2.4% | |
| 8 | Flame/torch used for lighting | 2 | 2.4% | |
| 9 | Spark, ember or flame from operating equipment | 1 | 1.2% | |
| 10 | Radiated, conducted heat from operating equipment | 1 | 1.2% | |
| 11 | All other sources | 3 | 3.7% |
Per-capita rates let us compare apples to apples. West Windsor sits below the national average for incidents per resident.
Top 25 wildfires (1992+) in the FPA-FOD ignitions database, scaled by acres. 105,947 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 | 31.0 mi | |
| 2007 | Arson/incendiarism | 17,050 | 43.6 mi | |
| 1999 | Equipment and vehicle use | 11,765 | 42.5 mi | |
| 2019 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 11,638 | 37.1 mi | |
| 1992 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 5,284 | 35.4 mi | |
| 1992 | Arson/incendiarism | 4,832 | 37.4 mi | |
| 2017 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 3,577 | 42.1 mi | |
| 1992 | Arson/incendiarism | 2,900 | 28.2 mi | |
| 2001 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 2,730 | 27.9 mi | |
| 2002 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 2,600 | 19.3 mi | |
| 2007 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 2,450 | 39.6 mi | |
| 2014 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 2,300 | 21.3 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 Windsor. Useful comparison targets — same state, similar size, different fire profile.
1 departments report to NFIRS for incidents in West Windsor.
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.