ZIP 08542 recorded 47 fire and hazmat incidents in 2025, 124 across 2021–2025. Primary county: Mercer County, NJ. FEMA NRI rates wildfire risk here as High.
124 incidents from 2021 through 2025 inside this ZIP.
| Year | Incidents | |
|---|---|---|
| 2021 | 19 | |
| 2022 | 21 | |
| 2023 | 28 | |
| 2024 | 9 | |
| 2025 | 47 |
Apr peaks. Jun dips. Aggregated across all 5 years inside this ZIP.
Top 5 NFIRS incident types for ZIP 08542 across 2021–2025.
| # | Incident type | Count | Share | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Gas leak (natural gas or LPG) | 47 | 37.9% | |
| 2 | Building fires | 17 | 13.7% | |
| 3 | Overheated motor | 11 | 8.9% | |
| 4 | Cooking fire, confined to container | 9 | 7.3% | |
| 5 | Carbon monoxide incident | 7 | 5.6% |
For the 2 building fires reported here in 2025, here's how investigators classified ignition cause.
NFIRS Area of Origin for ZIP 08542 fires across 2021–2025.
| # | Area of origin | Count | Share | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Cooking area, kitchen | 11 | 45.8% | |
| 2 | Highway, parking lot, street: on or near | 2 | 8.3% | |
| 3 | Courtyard, patio, porch, terrace | 2 | 8.3% | |
| 4 | Other | 1 | 4.2% | |
| 5 | Exterior stairway, ramp, or fire escape | 1 | 4.2% | |
| 6 | Interior stairway or ramp | 1 | 4.2% | |
| 7 | Art gallery, exhibit hall, library | 1 | 4.2% | |
| 8 | Duct: hvac, cable, exhaust, heating, or AC | 1 | 4.2% | |
| 9 | All other areas | 4 | 16.7% |
NFIRS HEAT_SOURC code — the physical thing that started the fire.
| # | Heat source | Count | Share | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Undetermined | 8 | 33.3% | |
| 2 | Radiated, conducted heat from operating equipment | 7 | 29.2% | |
| 3 | Heat from direct flame, convection currents | 3 | 12.5% | |
| 4 | Chemical reaction | 2 | 8.3% | |
| 5 | Spark, ember or flame from operating equipment | 1 | 4.2% | |
| 6 | Arcing | 1 | 4.2% | |
| 7 | Cigarette | 1 | 4.2% | |
| 8 | Heat from undetermined smoking material | 1 | 4.2% |
Largest single-incident losses in ZIP 08542 across 2021–2025. These 1 fires alone account for 100% of the ZIP's 2025 reported total.
| # | Property loss | Type | Year | Severity |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | $4,000 | Passenger vehicle fire | 2025 | Significant |
Some ZIPs span multiple cities. Ranked by 5-yr NFIRS incidents inside ZIP 08542.
| # | City | 5-yr incidents | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Princeton | 121 |
The figures above are historical. For today's air quality, fire-weather warnings, and active fires, go to the official sources.
NFIRS reports each fire incident with a 5-digit address ZIP. We aggregate those rows directly to produce ZIP-level totals — 124 incidents in this ZIP across 2021–2025. Building-fire breakdowns (Area of Origin, Heat Source, ignition cause) only count fires investigators classified beyond the basic incident report. Because NFIRS reporting is voluntary, totals are a strong indicator rather than a complete census.