In 2025, fire departments serving Middlesex County responded to 3,268 fire and hazmat incidents — including a single $500K property loss. FEMA NRI rates wildfire risk here as High.
Gas leak (natural gas or LPG) lead by count. Top five categories make up about 54% of all calls.
Feb peaks. Nov dips.
14,300 incidents from 2021 through 2025.
| Year | Incidents | |
|---|---|---|
| 2021 | 1,616 | |
| 2022 | 2,441 | |
| 2023 | 2,999 | |
| 2024 | 3,976 | |
| 2025 | 3,268 |
For the 282 building fires departments responded to in 2025, here's how investigators classified them.
Largest single-incident property losses in Middlesex County during 2025. These 10 fires alone account for 76% of the county's total.
| # | Property loss | City | Type | Severity |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | $500,000 | South Brunswick | Building fires | Major |
| 2 | $499,000 | Piscataway | Fire, other | Major |
| 3 | $275,000 | Perth Amboy | Building fires | Major |
| 4 | $155,461 | New Brunswick | Building fires | Significant |
| 5 | $110,000 | Perth Amboy | Passenger vehicle fire | Significant |
| 6 | $100,000 | South Amboy | Building fires | Significant |
| 7 | $62,000 | Parlin | Building fires | Significant |
| 8 | $60,000 | New Brunswick | Building fires | Significant |
| 9 | $50,000 | New Brunswick | Building fires | Significant |
| 10 | $50,000 | Perth Amboy | Off-road vehicle or heavy equipment fire | Significant |
Per-capita rates let us compare apples to apples.
12 cities mapped to FIPS 34023.
| City | Population | |
|---|---|---|
| Edison | 107,018 | View › |
| Woodbridge | 103,400 | View › |
| Old Bridge | 67,113 | View › |
| Piscataway | 60,447 | View › |
| New Brunswick | 55,718 | View › |
| Perth Amboy | 55,226 | View › |
| East Brunswick | 49,462 | View › |
| Monroe | 48,012 | View › |
| South Brunswick | 46,719 | View › |
| Sayreville | 45,136 | View › |
| North Brunswick | 43,708 | View › |
| Carteret | 25,161 | View › |
28 departments report from this county.
Top 6 fire perimeters by acres burned (state-scoped fallback while we build out per-county polygons).
| # | Name | Year | Agency | Acres |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | NJGSR-FY19-RX-Pool 3b | 2019 | FWS | 83 |
| 2 | NJWKR-FY19-RX-Kenely Unit D | 2019 | FWS | 4 |
| 3 | Game Farm | 2024 | FWS | 1 |
| 4 | NJGSR-FY20-WF-Orange Trail WF | 2020 | FWS | 0 |
| 5 | NJWKR-FY20-WF-Papakating Creek WF | 2020 | FWS | 0 |
| 6 | Water Works | 2023 | FWS | 0 |
County-level NFIRS aggregates for 2025, plus 5-year totals across 2021–2025. NFIRS is voluntary — about 23,000 of roughly 30,000 US fire departments report — so totals are a strong indicator, not a complete census. Wildfire risk score (0–100) and Expected Annual Loss come from FEMA's National Risk Index. Drought class is the most recent USDM classification (D0 = abnormally dry through D4 = exceptional drought). Historical fire perimeters are sourced from the NIFC InterAgency Fire Perimeter History.