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In 2025, fire departments serving Alamosa responded to 186 fire and hazmat incidents — from cooking fires to gas leaks to a single $50K building blaze. Here's the full picture.
Vehicle accident, general cleanup lead by count. Building fires lead by dollars. Together the top five categories make up about 54% of all calls.
Mar peaks. Feb dips. Watch for the typical fall climb starting in October.
906 incidents 2021–2025. Peak year was 2022. $1.4M cumulative property loss. 3 civilian deaths.
| Year | Incidents | YoY | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2021 | 136 | — | |
| 2022 | 247 | +81.6% | |
| 2023 | 171 | -30.8% | |
| 2024 | 166 | -2.9% | |
| 2025 | 186 | +12.0% |
For the 12 building fires Alamosa departments responded to in 2025, here's how they were classified once investigators were finished.
NFIRS Area of Origin (AREA_ORIG) for the 184 building fires investigators classified across 2021–2025. The room or location where ignition occurred — kitchens, bedrooms, exterior, vehicle areas — tells you where to focus prevention.
| # | Area of origin | Count | Share | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Engine area, running gear, wheel area | 25 | 13.6% | |
| 2 | Other | 24 | 13.0% | |
| 3 | Open area - outside; included are farmland, field | 22 | 12.0% | |
| 4 | Outside area, other | 18 | 9.8% | |
| 5 | Undetermined | 17 | 9.2% | |
| 6 | Bedroom - < 5 persons; included are jail or prison | 8 | 4.3% | |
| 7 | Common room, den, family room, living room, lounge | 6 | 3.3% | |
| 8 | Function area, other | 6 | 3.3% | |
| 9 | Storage area, other | 6 | 3.3% | |
| 10 | Operator/passenger area of transportation equip. | 6 | 3.3% | |
| 11 | All other areas | 46 | 25.0% |
NFIRS Heat Source (HEAT_SOURC) — the physical thing that started it. Spark or ember from operating equipment, an open flame, smoking materials, or hot embers from a fireplace are the leading culprits nationwide. Here's the Alamosa mix.
| # | Heat source | Count | Share | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Undetermined | 74 | 40.2% | |
| 2 | Arcing | 21 | 11.4% | |
| 3 | Radiated, conducted heat from operating equipment | 10 | 5.4% | |
| 4 | Hot ember or ash | 10 | 5.4% | |
| 5 | Heat source: other | 8 | 4.3% | |
| 6 | Heat from powered equipment, other | 7 | 3.8% | |
| 7 | Hot or smoldering object, other | 7 | 3.8% | |
| 8 | Flame/torch used for lighting | 7 | 3.8% | |
| 9 | Spark, ember or flame from operating equipment | 4 | 2.2% | |
| 10 | Heat, spark from friction | 4 | 2.2% | |
| 11 | All other sources | 32 | 17.4% |
Largest single-incident property losses reported by Alamosa departments in 2025. These 8 fires alone account for 87% of the city's annual total.
| # | Property loss | Type | Severity | Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | $50,000 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
| 2 | $40,000 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
| 3 | $35,000 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
| 4 | $25,000 | Passenger vehicle fire | Significant | Investigated |
| 5 | $15,000 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
| 6 | $12,000 | Camper or recreational vehicle (RV) fire | Significant | Investigated |
| 7 | $10,000 | Off-road vehicle or heavy equipment fire | Significant | Investigated |
| 8 | $5,000 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
Per-capita rates let us compare apples to apples. Alamosa sits above the national average for incidents per resident.
9 fire-related casualties recorded in NFIRS Module 11 across the 2021–2025 window. Age, gender, and severity are coarse-binned — no individual identification possible.
| Age | Count | |
|---|---|---|
| 0-9 | 0 | |
| 10-19 | 0 | |
| 20-29 | 2 | |
| 30-39 | 3 | |
| 40-49 | 1 | |
| 50-59 | 1 | |
| 60-69 | 1 | |
| 70-79 | 0 | |
| 80+ | 0 |
Top 25 wildfires (1992+) in the FPA-FOD ignitions database, scaled by acres. 148,109 acres burned in this 50-mile radius. Each dot is a fire — bigger dots burned more land.
| Year | Cause | Acres | Distance | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2018 | Arson/incendiarism | 107,995 | 32.2 mi | |
| 2006 | Natural | 13,820 | 31.0 mi | |
| 2002 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 9,294 | 44.6 mi | |
| 2010 | Natural | 6,249 | 30.6 mi | |
| 2000 | Debris and open burning | 3,124 | 21.0 mi | |
| 2019 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 2,183 | 21.4 mi | |
| 2000 | Natural | 1,010 | 49.1 mi | |
| 2013 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 918 | 12.5 mi | |
| 2015 | Natural | 814 | 50.0 mi | |
| 2007 | Power generation/transmission/distribution | 307 | 18.3 mi | |
| 2011 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 300 | 7.0 mi | |
| 1998 | Fireworks | 275 | 36.9 mi |
Top 5 ZIP codes by NFIRS incident count across 2021–2025. Each ZIP has its own fire profile — dive in for neighborhood-level context.
Six Colorado cities with population within ±25% of Alamosa. Useful comparison targets — same state, similar size, different fire profile.
2 departments report to NFIRS for incidents in Alamosa.
A 30-minute weekend can cut your home's exposure substantially. These four checklists are a good starting point.
Numbers reflect incidents reported by participating fire departments to the National Fire Incident Reporting System (NFIRS) Public Data Release for calendar year 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. Per-capita comparisons use 2023 ACS population estimates. Wildland fire data complements NFIRS with NIFC and USFS perimeters. Active-fire counts come from a dated NIFC snapshot, not a live feed.