In 2025, fire departments serving Denver responded to 30 fire and hazmat incidents . Here's the full picture.
Incomplete 2025 data. Denver's departments reported 30 incidents to NFIRS for 2025, against about 72 in a typical year, so 2025 figures on this page undercount. The 2021–2025 totals are the better guide.
Building fires lead by count. Building fires lead by dollars. Together the top five categories make up about 73% of all calls.
Mar peaks. Aug dips. Watch for the typical fall climb starting in October.
361 incidents 2021–2025. Peak year was 2021. $50K cumulative property loss.
| Year | Incidents | YoY | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2021 | 92 | — | |
| 2022 | 86 | -6.5% | |
| 2023 | 79 | -8.1% | |
| 2024 | 74 | -6.3% | |
| 2025* | 30 | — |
* Well below Denver's usual volume. That almost always means one or more departments didn't submit a full year to NFIRS, not that fires dropped, so no year-over-year change is shown for it.
For the 12 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 | Outside area, other | 7 | 21.9% | |
| 2 | Undetermined | 6 | 18.8% | |
| 3 | Wildland, woods | 2 | 6.2% | |
| 4 | Other | 1 | 3.1% | |
| 5 | Interior stairway or ramp | 1 | 3.1% | |
| 6 | Processing/manufacturing area, workroom | 1 | 3.1% | |
| 7 | Storage area, other | 1 | 3.1% | |
| 8 | Closet | 1 | 3.1% | |
| 9 | Chute/container - trash, rubbish, waste | 1 | 3.1% | |
| 10 | Chute; laundry or mail, excluding trash chutes | 1 | 3.1% | |
| 11 | All other areas | 10 | 31.2% |
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 | 12 | 37.5% | |
| 2 | Hot ember or ash | 5 | 15.6% | |
| 3 | Heat from powered equipment, other | 2 | 6.2% | |
| 4 | Spark, ember or flame from operating equipment | 2 | 6.2% | |
| 5 | Radiated, conducted heat from operating equipment | 2 | 6.2% | |
| 6 | Chemical reaction | 2 | 6.2% | |
| 7 | Heat source: other | 1 | 3.1% | |
| 8 | Arcing | 1 | 3.1% | |
| 9 | Hot or smoldering object, other | 1 | 3.1% | |
| 10 | Heat from other open flame or smoking materials | 1 | 3.1% | |
| 11 | All other sources | 3 | 9.4% |
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. 5,121 acres burned in this 50-mile radius. Each dot is a fire — bigger dots burned more land.
| Year | Cause | Acres | Distance | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2006 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 935 | 31.1 mi | |
| 2015 | Equipment and vehicle use | 848 | 44.8 mi | |
| 2012 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 741 | 20.0 mi | |
| 2006 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 470 | 48.8 mi | |
| 2017 | Arson/incendiarism | 282 | 42.4 mi | |
| 2005 | Arson/incendiarism | 263 | 42.0 mi | |
| 2008 | Recreation and ceremony | 193 | 36.5 mi | |
| 2015 | Arson/incendiarism | 184 | 41.7 mi | |
| 2002 | Railroad operations and maintenance | 168 | 41.9 mi | |
| 2006 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 109 | 35.1 mi | |
| 2012 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 100 | 32.0 mi | |
| 2015 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 90 | 28.8 mi |
Top 4 ZIP codes by NFIRS incident count across 2021–2025. Each ZIP has its own fire profile — dive in for neighborhood-level context.
Six Pennsylvania cities with population within ±25% of Denver. Useful comparison targets — same state, similar size, different fire profile.
3 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.