Governor Phil Murphy • Lt. Governor Sheila Oliver

October, 2015 - DCA Division of Fire Safety Releases “Fire in New Jersey 2014” Annual Report

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: October, 2015

 

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Report Provides Fire and Emergency Incident Data for the Garden State 

Trenton, NJ – The New Jersey Department of Community Affairs’ (DCA) Division of Fire Safety today issued a new report, "Fire in New Jersey 2014," an annual statistical analysis, which provides fire and emergency incident information for the previous calendar year. According to the report, New Jersey fire departments responded 413,926 times to fire-related incidents in 2014.

"The Division of Fire Safety has done a tremendous job providing information for households to better understand fire safety. Residents and fire officials can collectively implement prevention strategies that reduce fire-related deaths, injuries and property damage," said DCA Commissioner Charles A. Richman. "This year, we received data from 87 percent of the state’s 724 fire departments and we strongly encourage any departments that have not participated to do so next year. The more data we have, the more effective our fire departments can be in preventing and fighting fires."

Among the other key findings in the 2014 report:

• 27,486 fires were reported.
• 80 percent of all reported structure fires involved residential properties of which 56 percent of those were one- or two-family dwellings.
• 79 percent of all civilian fire fatalities occurred in residential properties.
• 228 civilians were reported injured as a result of fire.
• 589 firefighters were reported injured.

The 2014 statistical analysis of fire and emergency data reported eight firefighter and 81 civilian fatalities as a result of fire. Fire department personnel also revived 523 civilians using an automatic external defibrillator (AED), according to data.

"While the numbers reported today pale in comparison to previous statistics, our goal remains to be to reduce the toll fire takes each year in our state. We are increasing efforts to heighten public awareness on fire prevention to avoid the deadly consequences of fire," said William Kramer, Jr. Acting Director and New Jersey State Fire Marshal.

The Federal Fire Prevention and Control Act of 1974 authorized the National Fire Data Center in the United States Fire Administration to gather and analyze information on the frequency, causes, spread and extinguishment of fires. The data used in the report was provided by fire departments in the state that participate in NFIRS.

"Fire in New Jersey 2014" contains not only the facts about fire incidents in 2014, but vivid color photos of actual fire events and the firefighters who risk their lives to protect New Jersey’s citizens and property. The data collected and used in the formulation of this report comes from fire departments throughout New Jersey that participate in the National Fire Incident Reporting System (NFIRS).

The Division of Fire Safety serves as the central fire service agency in the State. The Division is responsible for the development and enforcement of the State Uniform Fire Code, as well as for implementing community risk reduction and firefighter training programs.

For the full report and more information, log on to http://www.state.nj.us/dca/divisions/dfs/ on the DCA website.