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In 2025, fire departments serving Ault responded to 29 fire and hazmat incidents — from cooking fires to gas leaks to a single $300K building blaze. Here's the full picture.
Gas leak (natural gas or LPG) lead by count. Building fires lead by dollars. Together the top five categories make up about 59% of all calls.
Dec peaks. Jul dips. Watch for the typical fall climb starting in October.
198 incidents 2021–2025. Peak year was 2022. $856K cumulative property loss.
| Year | Incidents | YoY | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2021 | 34 | — | |
| 2022 | 66 | +94.1% | |
| 2023 | 36 | -45.5% | |
| 2024 | 33 | -8.3% | |
| 2025 | 29 | -12.1% |
For the 1 building fires Ault departments responded to in 2025, here's how they were classified once investigators were finished.
NFIRS Area of Origin (AREA_ORIG) for the 68 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 | Open area - outside; included are farmland, field | 15 | 22.1% | |
| 2 | Undetermined | 9 | 13.2% | |
| 3 | Engine area, running gear, wheel area | 7 | 10.3% | |
| 4 | Outside area, other | 7 | 10.3% | |
| 5 | Other | 4 | 5.9% | |
| 6 | Cooking area, kitchen | 3 | 4.4% | |
| 7 | Highway, parking lot, street: on or near | 3 | 4.4% | |
| 8 | Courtyard, patio, porch, terrace | 3 | 4.4% | |
| 9 | Chute/container - trash, rubbish, waste | 2 | 2.9% | |
| 10 | Cargo/trunk area - all vehicles | 2 | 2.9% | |
| 11 | All other areas | 13 | 19.1% |
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 Ault mix.
| # | Heat source | Count | Share | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Undetermined | 45 | 66.2% | |
| 2 | Heat source: other | 4 | 5.9% | |
| 3 | Spark, ember or flame from operating equipment | 2 | 2.9% | |
| 4 | Radiated, conducted heat from operating equipment | 2 | 2.9% | |
| 5 | Hot or smoldering object, other | 2 | 2.9% | |
| 6 | Heat, spark from friction | 2 | 2.9% | |
| 7 | Munitions | 2 | 2.9% | |
| 8 | Flame/torch used for lighting | 2 | 2.9% | |
| 9 | Heat from powered equipment, other | 1 | 1.5% | |
| 10 | Arcing | 1 | 1.5% | |
| 11 | All other sources | 5 | 7.4% |
Largest single-incident property losses reported by Ault departments in 2025. These 3 fires alone account for 100% of the city's annual total.
| # | Property loss | Type | Severity | Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | $300,000 | Off-road vehicle or heavy equipment fire | Major | Investigated |
| 2 | $400 | Fire, other | Significant | Investigated |
| 3 | $300 | Off-road vehicle or heavy equipment fire | Significant | Investigated |
Per-capita rates let us compare apples to apples. Ault sits above the national average for incidents per resident.
Top 25 wildfires (1992+) in the FPA-FOD ignitions database, scaled by acres. 185,239 acres burned in this 50-mile radius. Each dot is a fire — bigger dots burned more land.
| Year | Cause | Acres | Distance | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2012 | Natural | 87,275 | 34.9 mi | |
| 2015 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 12,699 | 16.0 mi | |
| 2000 | Recreation and ceremony | 10,599 | 32.9 mi | |
| 2020 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 10,106 | 45.3 mi | |
| 2004 | Debris and open burning | 8,908 | 26.4 mi | |
| 2012 | Recreation and ceremony | 7,685 | 29.3 mi | |
| 2004 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 6,400 | 31.1 mi | |
| 2002 | Equipment and vehicle use | 4,348 | 39.8 mi | |
| 2003 | Power generation/transmission/distribution | 3,869 | 47.1 mi | |
| 2018 | Natural | 3,713 | 35.7 mi | |
| 2012 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 3,498 | 46.1 mi | |
| 2004 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 3,014 | 29.7 mi |
Top 3 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 Ault. Useful comparison targets — same state, similar size, different fire profile.
1 departments report to NFIRS for incidents in Ault.
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.