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In 2025, fire departments serving Central City responded to 34 fire and hazmat incidents — from cooking fires to gas leaks to a single $100K building blaze. Here's the full picture.
Power line down lead by count. Building fires lead by dollars. Together the top five categories make up about 77% of all calls.
Dec peaks. Apr dips. Watch for the typical fall climb starting in October.
106 incidents 2021–2025. Peak year was 2025. $170K cumulative property loss.
| Year | Incidents | YoY | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2021 | 15 | — | |
| 2022 | 19 | +26.7% | |
| 2023 | 20 | +5.3% | |
| 2024 | 18 | -10.0% | |
| 2025 | 34 | +88.9% |
For the 5 building fires Central City departments responded to in 2025, here's how they were classified once investigators were finished.
NFIRS Area of Origin (AREA_ORIG) for the 29 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 | Other | 7 | 24.1% | |
| 2 | Engine area, running gear, wheel area | 7 | 24.1% | |
| 3 | Outside area, other | 5 | 17.2% | |
| 4 | Cooking area, kitchen | 2 | 6.9% | |
| 5 | Open area - outside; included are farmland, field | 2 | 6.9% | |
| 6 | Egress/exit, other | 1 | 3.4% | |
| 7 | Function area, other | 1 | 3.4% | |
| 8 | Fuel tank, fuel line | 1 | 3.4% | |
| 9 | Highway, parking lot, street: on or near | 1 | 3.4% | |
| 10 | Construction/renovation area | 1 | 3.4% | |
| 11 | All other areas | 1 | 3.4% |
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 Central City mix.
| # | Heat source | Count | Share | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Radiated, conducted heat from operating equipment | 5 | 17.2% | |
| 2 | Heat source: other | 4 | 13.8% | |
| 3 | Cigarette | 3 | 10.3% | |
| 4 | Undetermined | 3 | 10.3% | |
| 5 | Heat from powered equipment, other | 2 | 6.9% | |
| 6 | Hot or smoldering object, other | 2 | 6.9% | |
| 7 | Hot ember or ash | 2 | 6.9% | |
| 8 | Heat from other open flame or smoking materials | 2 | 6.9% | |
| 9 | Spark, ember or flame from operating equipment | 1 | 3.4% | |
| 10 | Arcing | 1 | 3.4% | |
| 11 | All other sources | 4 | 13.8% |
Largest single-incident property losses reported by Central City departments in 2025. These 4 fires alone account for 100% of the city's annual total.
| # | Property loss | Type | Severity | Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | $100,000 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
| 2 | $30,000 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
| 3 | $30,000 | Passenger vehicle fire | Significant | Investigated |
| 4 | $1,000 | Passenger vehicle fire | Significant | Investigated |
Per-capita rates let us compare apples to apples. Central City sits above the national average for incidents per resident.
Top 25 wildfires (1992+) in the FPA-FOD ignitions database, scaled by acres. 301,335 acres burned in this 50-mile radius. Each dot is a fire — bigger dots burned more land.
| Year | Cause | Acres | Distance | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2020 | Recreation and ceremony | 193,812 | 47.7 mi | |
| 2020 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 14,833 | 29.6 mi | |
| 1996 | Recreation and ceremony | 11,875 | 32.8 mi | |
| 2000 | Smoking | 10,800 | 27.2 mi | |
| 2000 | Recreation and ceremony | 10,599 | 45.9 mi | |
| 2020 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 10,106 | 25.8 mi | |
| 2010 | Debris and open burning | 6,382 | 18.0 mi | |
| 2011 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 5,200 | 24.1 mi | |
| 2002 | Equipment and vehicle use | 4,348 | 34.6 mi | |
| 2012 | Debris and open burning | 4,142 | 29.3 mi | |
| 2002 | Natural | 4,085 | 41.3 mi | |
| 2003 | Power generation/transmission/distribution | 3,869 | 23.8 mi |
Top 2 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 Central City. Useful comparison targets — same state, similar size, different fire profile.
1 departments report to NFIRS for incidents in Central City.
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.