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In 2025, fire departments serving Edgewater responded to 26 fire and hazmat incidents — from cooking fires to gas leaks to a single $72K building blaze. Here's the full picture.
Dumpster or other outside trash receptacle fire lead by count. Building fires lead by dollars. Together the top five categories make up about 69% of all calls.
Jun peaks. Aug dips. Watch for the typical fall climb starting in October.
173 incidents 2021–2025. Peak year was 2024. $360K cumulative property loss.
| Year | Incidents | YoY | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2021 | 38 | — | |
| 2022 | 36 | -5.3% | |
| 2023 | 34 | -5.6% | |
| 2024 | 39 | +14.7% | |
| 2025 | 26 | -33.3% |
For the 2 building fires Edgewater departments responded to in 2025, here's how they were classified once investigators were finished.
NFIRS Area of Origin (AREA_ORIG) for the 56 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 | 18 | 32.1% | |
| 2 | Cooking area, kitchen | 5 | 8.9% | |
| 3 | Engine area, running gear, wheel area | 5 | 8.9% | |
| 4 | Highway, parking lot, street: on or near | 5 | 8.9% | |
| 5 | Chute/container - trash, rubbish, waste | 4 | 7.1% | |
| 6 | Open area - outside; included are farmland, field | 3 | 5.4% | |
| 7 | Undetermined | 3 | 5.4% | |
| 8 | Vehicle storage area; garage, carport | 2 | 3.6% | |
| 9 | Courtyard, patio, porch, terrace | 2 | 3.6% | |
| 10 | Other | 1 | 1.8% | |
| 11 | All other areas | 8 | 14.3% |
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 Edgewater mix.
| # | Heat source | Count | Share | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Undetermined | 30 | 53.6% | |
| 2 | Hot ember or ash | 4 | 7.1% | |
| 3 | Spark, ember or flame from operating equipment | 3 | 5.4% | |
| 4 | Radiated, conducted heat from operating equipment | 3 | 5.4% | |
| 5 | Arcing | 3 | 5.4% | |
| 6 | Cigarette lighter | 3 | 5.4% | |
| 7 | Heat from powered equipment, other | 2 | 3.6% | |
| 8 | Cigarette | 2 | 3.6% | |
| 9 | Heat from undetermined smoking material | 2 | 3.6% | |
| 10 | Hot or smoldering object, other | 1 | 1.8% | |
| 11 | All other sources | 3 | 5.4% |
Largest single-incident property losses reported by Edgewater departments in 2025. These 3 fires alone account for 100% of the city's annual total.
| # | Property loss | Type | Severity | Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | $72,260 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
| 2 | $500 | Passenger vehicle fire | Significant | Investigated |
| 3 | $300 | Dumpster or other outside trash receptacle fire | Significant | Investigated |
Per-capita rates let us compare apples to apples. Edgewater sits below the national average for incidents per resident.
Top 25 wildfires (1992+) in the FPA-FOD ignitions database, scaled by acres. 86,683 acres burned in this 50-mile radius. Each dot is a fire — bigger dots burned more land.
| Year | Cause | Acres | Distance | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1996 | Recreation and ceremony | 11,875 | 32.1 mi | |
| 2000 | Smoking | 10,800 | 29.4 mi | |
| 2020 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 10,106 | 32.6 mi | |
| 2010 | Debris and open burning | 6,382 | 26.5 mi | |
| 2011 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 5,200 | 5.9 mi | |
| 2002 | Equipment and vehicle use | 4,348 | 40.6 mi | |
| 2012 | Debris and open burning | 4,142 | 23.3 mi | |
| 2002 | Natural | 4,085 | 35.3 mi | |
| 2003 | Power generation/transmission/distribution | 3,869 | 31.5 mi | |
| 2012 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 3,498 | 49.8 mi | |
| 2009 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 3,008 | 24.1 mi | |
| 2002 | Smoking | 2,312 | 33.4 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 | 80214 | 173 |
Six Colorado cities with population within ±25% of Edgewater. Useful comparison targets — same state, similar size, different fire profile.
1 departments report to NFIRS for incidents in Edgewater.
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.