County Fire Departments Report Over 10,000 Incidents Last Year

TRENTON — In October, the state issued a report that said Cape May County firefighters were busy in 2009, reporting responses to 10,776 incidents.
“Fire in New Jersey 2009,” a statistical analysis of fire and emergency incidents in the state, was published by the Department of Community Affairs (DCA) Division of Fire Safety.
According to the report, there are 35 fire stations within the 26 departments that protect the county’s 255 square miles and year round population of 85,000, which swells to many times that on summer weekends. The previous year’s report stated the county had 123 career firefighters and 825 volunteer firefighters. That information could not be located in this year’s report.
What kind of incidents did county firefighters respond to?
About half of the calls (5,264) were related to Emergency Medical Services. Fire personnel also responded to 2,149 false alarms, 1,307 hazardous condition calls, 772 service calls and 669 fire alarms.
Regarding fires, the report said there were 518 total with 279 structure fires, 90 vegetation fires, 55 rubbish fires and over 50 vehicle fires. Property loss in the vehicle fires was estimated at more than $80,000.
The report stated 125 fires had unintentional causes of ignition,11 were intentional, six were acts of nature and 31 involved equipment failure.
When did the nearly 11,000 incidents occur?
Unsurprisingly, the majority of the county’s response took place during the tourist season with nearly 6,000 incidents occurring between May and September. Friday (1,772) and Saturday (1,919) were the two busiest days for incidents year round and most (61 percent) occurred between noon and midnight.
Fighting fires is a dangerous job.
In this county, seven firefighters were injured in 2009. There were 717 injuries statewide and two firefighters died in the line of duty — Gary Stephens, 57, of the Elizabeth Fire Department, and Manuel Rivera, 43, of the Trenton Fire Department.
The “Fire in New Jersey 2009” report was dedicated to fallen heroes.
“We honor the firefighters who selflessly gave their lives to protect the citizens of their communities,” the report stated.
The report was compiled through data collected from the fire departments throughout the state that participate in the National Fire Incident Reporting System (NFIRS).
According to the report, 24 or this county’s 26 fire departments (92 percent) participated in the NFIRS last year. Avalon and Woodbine fire departments did not participate, it said.
To view the complete report, visit http://www.nj.gov/dca/dfs/.