In 2025, fire departments serving Denver responded to 110 fire and hazmat incidents — from cooking fires to gas leaks to a single $75K 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 40% of all calls.
Mar peaks. Sep dips. Watch for the typical fall climb starting in October.
716 incidents 2021–2025. Peak year was 2023. $806K cumulative property loss. 1 civilian deaths.
| Year | Incidents | YoY | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2021 | 148 | — | |
| 2022 | 139 | -6.1% | |
| 2023 | 170 | +22.3% | |
| 2024 | 149 | -12.4% | |
| 2025 | 110 | -26.2% |
For the 8 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 210 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 | Outside area, other | 61 | 29.0% | |
| 2 | Cooking area, kitchen | 24 | 11.4% | |
| 3 | Open area - outside; included are farmland, field | 18 | 8.6% | |
| 4 | Engine area, running gear, wheel area | 16 | 7.6% | |
| 5 | Undetermined | 14 | 6.7% | |
| 6 | Other | 12 | 5.7% | |
| 7 | Wildland, woods | 11 | 5.2% | |
| 8 | Vehicle area, other | 6 | 2.9% | |
| 9 | Bedroom - < 5 persons; included are jail or prison | 5 | 2.4% | |
| 10 | Chute/container - trash, rubbish, waste | 4 | 1.9% | |
| 11 | All other areas | 39 | 18.6% |
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 | 76 | 36.2% | |
| 2 | Arcing | 18 | 8.6% | |
| 3 | Heat from powered equipment, other | 17 | 8.1% | |
| 4 | Hot ember or ash | 16 | 7.6% | |
| 5 | Hot or smoldering object, other | 10 | 4.8% | |
| 6 | Heat source: other | 9 | 4.3% | |
| 7 | Cigarette lighter | 9 | 4.3% | |
| 8 | Flame/torch used for lighting | 8 | 3.8% | |
| 9 | Spark, ember or flame from operating equipment | 6 | 2.9% | |
| 10 | Radiated, conducted heat from operating equipment | 6 | 2.9% | |
| 11 | All other sources | 35 | 16.7% |
Largest single-incident property losses reported by Denver departments in 2025. These 8 fires alone account for 100% of the city's annual total.
| # | Property loss | Type | Severity | Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | $75,000 | Road freight or transport vehicle fire | Significant | Investigated |
| 2 | $15,000 | Passenger vehicle fire | Significant | Investigated |
| 3 | $10,000 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
| 4 | $7,500 | Dumpster or other outside trash receptacle fire | Significant | Investigated |
| 5 | $5,000 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
| 6 | $1,000 | Off-road vehicle or heavy equipment fire | Significant | Investigated |
| 7 | $1,000 | Outside rubbish, trash or waste fire | Significant | Investigated |
| 8 | $600 | Cooking fire, confined to container | 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. 11,468 acres burned in this 50-mile radius. Each dot is a fire — bigger dots burned more land.
| Year | Cause | Acres | Distance | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2016 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 6,431 | 34.1 mi | |
| 2007 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 562 | 38.4 mi | |
| 2014 | Natural | 550 | 47.6 mi | |
| 2016 | Debris and open burning | 535 | 39.1 mi | |
| 2008 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 493 | 45.2 mi | |
| 2014 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 300 | 41.8 mi | |
| 1996 | Arson/incendiarism | 266 | 49.5 mi | |
| 2011 | Debris and open burning | 200 | 42.2 mi | |
| 2008 | Arson/incendiarism | 190 | 49.3 mi | |
| 2012 | Arson/incendiarism | 175 | 46.0 mi | |
| 2016 | Natural | 169 | 48.4 mi | |
| 2012 | Debris and open burning | 147 | 47.6 mi |
Top 7 ZIP codes by NFIRS incident count across 2021–2025. Each ZIP has its own fire profile — dive in for neighborhood-level context.
Six North Carolina cities with population within ±25% of Denver. Useful comparison targets — same state, similar size, different fire profile.
1 departments report to NFIRS for incidents in Denver.
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.