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Risk & Response

Sussex County, NJ

Community risk profile | NRI Score: 38.9 Relatively Low

145,807
Population
26
Departments
43
Stations
42
Census Tracts

Natural Hazard Loss Profile

Expected annual loss across the 18 natural hazards in FEMA's National Risk Index. Life safety is expressed in fatality-equivalents, combining expected deaths and injuries. Property loss counts building damage only, not agriculture.

Natural Hazard Life Safety
1.54
expected fatality-equivalents per year, natural hazards only
14th highest of 21
Life Safety per 100k
1.05
natural hazard fatality-equivalents per 100,000 residents
1st highest of 21
Natural Hazard Property Loss
$37.3M
expected building loss per year, natural hazards only
19th highest of 21
Property Loss per Resident
$256
natural hazard building loss per resident per year
14th highest of 21

These figures cover natural hazards only. Structure fire, EMS, and motor vehicle incidents are not in the National Risk Index, so this is not an all-cause life safety measure. For Sussex County, the largest single contributor is Cold Wave, 75% of the life-safety total.

Sussex County carries an expected 2 natural hazard fatality-equivalents and $37.3M in building loss per year. Rank chips compare the 21 New Jersey counties. Nationally, Sussex County ranks 382nd of 3,222 U.S. counties for life-safety loss, 1638th for life safety per 100k residents, 496th for property loss, and 2257th for property loss per resident. Computed from census tract data covering every resident, independent of fire department boundaries.

Add fire mortality, cause, and loss

Natural hazard exposure is only part of the risk. Fire deaths and injuries, cause of ignition, and dollar loss per incident come from NERIS incident reporting, which grows as departments serving Sussex County enroll. Our Regional tier adds that data for the departments your jurisdiction sponsors, next to public risk and NERIS adoption for every department in Sussex County.

Talk to us about Sussex County See what a department sees

Loss Breakdown

64%
36%
Property (buildings): $37.3M (63.5%)
Life safety: $21.0M (35.9%)
Agriculture: $335K (0.6%)

Total expected annual loss: $58,656,178 per year. Life safety is shown here in dollars, at FEMA's $13.7M value of statistical life, so the three shares sum to the total.

Hazards Ranked Two Ways

The hazard that threatens people is often not the hazard that destroys buildings. Both columns cover the same 18 hazards over the same year.

By life-safety loss ($/yr)

Cold Wave
$15.9M
Strong Wind
$2.3M
Heat Wave
$889K
Tornado
$732K
Lightning
$636K
Winter Weather
$241K

By property loss ($/yr)

Inland Flooding
$27.2M
Strong Wind
$6.8M
Earthquake
$1.1M
Hurricane
$985K
Tornado
$865K
Ice Storm
$84K

Census Tract Risk Map

Shaded by quintile across the census tracts in Sussex County. Gray tracts have no modeled loss or no resident population. Per-resident figures on this map use the National Risk Index 2020 tract population.

Fire Service Profile

96%
Combination: 4% (1)
Volunteer: 96% (25)
Residents per Station
3,391
census population per registered station
Stations per 100k
29.5
registered stations per 100,000 residents

Department composition covers the 26 departments registered in NERIS Public for Sussex County, NJ. Departments that have not registered are not counted. Station coverage divides census population by registered stations; department service areas overlap, so their populations are not summed.

Department Rankings

Fire and EMS departments serving Sussex County. Click column headers to sort.

NRI Rating is from FEMA's National Risk Index, which measures community risk across 18 natural hazards using expected annual losses, social vulnerability, and community resilience. Life-Safety Loss uses FEMA's Value of Statistical Life ($13.7M per expected fatality) to estimate annual risk to human life.

Department boundaries and station counts are self-reported through NERIS Public and may not reflect current service areas. Population and Life-Safety Loss reflect each department's full jurisdiction. County-level risk metrics are computed from census tract data and are not affected by boundary accuracy. See full methodology.

Showing 26 departments
Department ▲ Est. Population ▲ Life-Safety Loss ▼ NRI Rating ▲ Stations ▲
Highland Lakes Volunteer Fire Department 22,536 $3.2M Relatively Low 1
Sparta Township Fire Department 19,803 $2.8M Relatively Moderate 4
Vernon Township Fire Department 18,398 $2.6M Relatively Low 1
Hopatcong Fire Department 13,808 $2.0M Relatively Low 3
Byram Township Fire Department 14,058 $2.0M Relatively Low 3
Wantage Fire Department 10,941 $1.5M Relatively Low 4
Hardyston Township Fire Department 8,322 $1.2M Relatively Moderate 2
Newton Fire Department 6,919 $1.0M Relatively Moderate 2
Montague Volunteer Fire Department 13,455 $1.0M Relatively Low 1
Andover Township Volunteer Fire Department 6,529 $987.5K Relatively Low 3
Frankford Township Fire Department 6,136 $867.0K Relatively Moderate 2
Ogdensburg Fire Department 5,941 $840.7K Very Low 1
Sandyston Township Volunteer Fire Department 5,765 $822.7K Relatively Moderate 2
McAfee Fire Department 5,763 $815.2K Relatively Low 1
Hampton Township Fire & Rescue 4,912 $696.6K Relatively Low 2
Franklin Fire Department 4,503 $644.1K Relatively Low 1
Stillwater Area Volunteer Fire Company 4,052 $591.6K Relatively High 1
Swartswood Volunteer Fire Department Inc. 4,052 $591.6K Relatively High 1
Branchville Hose Company # 1 4,178 $584.8K Relatively High 1
Andover Boro Fire Department 3,658 $570.7K Relatively Low 1
Green Township Fire Department 3,657 $542.2K Relatively Moderate 1
Fredon Volunteer Fire Company 3,281 $480.9K Relatively Low 1
Stanhope Fire Department 2,736 $403.2K Relatively Low 1
Hamburg Fire Department Inc. 2,687 $379.7K Relatively Moderate 1
Lafayette Fire Department 2,344 $335.8K Relatively Low 1
Sussex Fire Department 1,710 $232.6K Relatively Moderate 1
No departments match your search.

Risk Snapshot

5.5%
Poverty Rate
19.0%
Age 65+
11.7%
Disability Rate
3.8%
Uninsured
63.2%
Pre-1980 Housing
1.7%
Mobile Homes
8.1%
Vacancy Rate
3.3%
Wood Heat
$122,272
Median HH Income

FEMA Disaster Declarations

6
Last 10 Years
19
Last 25 Years
Hurricane
Most Frequent

Every department in your region, on one briefing

Our Regional tier gives state fire marshals and county fire authorities one briefing across every department in the jurisdiction: priority tracts ranked by risk and demand, NERIS adoption by county, and a quarterly report with a page per department. Response times appear for the departments you sponsor. Free 90-day pilot.

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