In 2025, fire departments serving Denver responded to 17 fire and hazmat incidents — from cooking fires to gas leaks to a single $25K building blaze. Here's the full picture.
Building fires lead by count. Building fires lead by dollars. Together the top five categories make up about 53% of all calls.
Nov peaks. Mar dips. Watch for the typical fall climb starting in October.
71 incidents 2021–2025. Peak year was 2021. $828K cumulative property loss.
| Year | Incidents | YoY | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2021 | 23 | — | |
| 2022 | 9 | -60.9% | |
| 2023 | 10 | +11.1% | |
| 2024 | 12 | +20.0% | |
| 2025 | 17 | +41.7% |
For the 2 building fires Denver departments responded to in 2025, here's how they were classified once investigators were finished.
NFIRS Area of Origin (AREA_ORIG) for the 32 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 | 11 | 34.4% | |
| 2 | Undetermined | 9 | 28.1% | |
| 3 | Engine area, running gear, wheel area | 2 | 6.2% | |
| 4 | Other | 1 | 3.1% | |
| 5 | Cooking area, kitchen | 1 | 3.1% | |
| 6 | Closet | 1 | 3.1% | |
| 7 | Chute/container - trash, rubbish, waste | 1 | 3.1% | |
| 8 | Duct: hvac, cable, exhaust, heating, or AC | 1 | 3.1% | |
| 9 | Structural area, other | 1 | 3.1% | |
| 10 | Exterior balcony, unenclosed porch | 1 | 3.1% | |
| 11 | All other areas | 3 | 9.4% |
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 Denver mix.
| # | Heat source | Count | Share | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Undetermined | 15 | 46.9% | |
| 2 | Heat source: other | 5 | 15.6% | |
| 3 | Heat from powered equipment, other | 2 | 6.2% | |
| 4 | Chemical reaction | 2 | 6.2% | |
| 5 | Spark, ember or flame from operating equipment | 1 | 3.1% | |
| 6 | Radiated, conducted heat from operating equipment | 1 | 3.1% | |
| 7 | Arcing | 1 | 3.1% | |
| 8 | Hot ember or ash | 1 | 3.1% | |
| 9 | Heat from other open flame or smoking materials | 1 | 3.1% | |
| 10 | Cigarette | 1 | 3.1% | |
| 11 | All other sources | 2 | 6.2% |
Largest single-incident property losses reported by Denver departments in 2025. These 1 fires alone account for 100% of the city's annual total.
| # | Property loss | Type | Severity | Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | $25,000 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
Per-capita rates let us compare apples to apples. Denver sits above the national average for incidents per resident.
Top 25 wildfires (1992+) in the FPA-FOD ignitions database, scaled by acres. 3,972 acres burned in this 50-mile radius. Each dot is a fire — bigger dots burned more land.
| Year | Cause | Acres | Distance | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2015 | Debris and open burning | 750 | 18.0 mi | |
| 2015 | Debris and open burning | 500 | 17.5 mi | |
| 2014 | Debris and open burning | 200 | 33.3 mi | |
| 2004 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 175 | 49.9 mi | |
| 2010 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 160 | 46.8 mi | |
| 2015 | Debris and open burning | 160 | 36.0 mi | |
| 2004 | Debris and open burning | 150 | 49.5 mi | |
| 2014 | Debris and open burning | 150 | 18.2 mi | |
| 2018 | Debris and open burning | 150 | 32.7 mi | |
| 2009 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 140 | 35.5 mi | |
| 2011 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 120 | 41.0 mi | |
| 2012 | Debris and open burning | 120 | 43.3 mi |
Top 1 ZIP codes by NFIRS incident count across 2021–2025. Each ZIP has its own fire profile — dive in for neighborhood-level context.
| # | ZIP | 5-yr incidents | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 50622 | 71 |
Six Iowa cities with population within ±25% of Denver. Useful comparison targets — same state, similar size, different fire profile.
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.