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In 2025, fire departments serving Manitou Springs responded to 42 fire and hazmat incidents — from cooking fires to gas leaks to a single $35K building blaze. Here's the full picture.
Carbon monoxide incident lead by count. Building fires lead by dollars. Together the top five categories make up about 64% of all calls.
Nov peaks. Apr dips. Watch for the typical fall climb starting in October.
281 incidents 2021–2025. Peak year was 2021. $306K cumulative property loss.
| Year | Incidents | YoY | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2021 | 74 | — | |
| 2022 | 67 | -9.5% | |
| 2023 | 38 | -43.3% | |
| 2024 | 60 | +57.9% | |
| 2025 | 42 | -30.0% |
For the 1 building fires Manitou Springs departments responded to in 2025, here's how they were classified once investigators were finished.
NFIRS Area of Origin (AREA_ORIG) for the 51 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 | 10 | 19.6% | |
| 2 | Cooking area, kitchen | 9 | 17.6% | |
| 3 | Other | 5 | 9.8% | |
| 4 | Engine area, running gear, wheel area | 4 | 7.8% | |
| 5 | Bedroom - < 5 persons; included are jail or prison | 3 | 5.9% | |
| 6 | Courtyard, patio, porch, terrace | 3 | 5.9% | |
| 7 | Common room, den, family room, living room, lounge | 2 | 3.9% | |
| 8 | Operator/passenger area of transportation equip. | 2 | 3.9% | |
| 9 | Undetermined | 2 | 3.9% | |
| 10 | Dining room, cafeteria bar area, beverage service | 1 | 2.0% | |
| 11 | All other areas | 10 | 19.6% |
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 Manitou Springs mix.
| # | Heat source | Count | Share | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Undetermined | 12 | 23.5% | |
| 2 | Heat from powered equipment, other | 6 | 11.8% | |
| 3 | Heat source: other | 5 | 9.8% | |
| 4 | Heat from other open flame or smoking materials | 5 | 9.8% | |
| 5 | Arcing | 4 | 7.8% | |
| 6 | Radiated, conducted heat from operating equipment | 3 | 5.9% | |
| 7 | Hot or smoldering object, other | 3 | 5.9% | |
| 8 | Match | 3 | 5.9% | |
| 9 | Spark, ember or flame from operating equipment | 2 | 3.9% | |
| 10 | Heat, spark from friction | 1 | 2.0% | |
| 11 | All other sources | 7 | 13.7% |
Largest single-incident property losses reported by Manitou Springs departments in 2025. These 2 fires alone account for 100% of the city's annual total.
| # | Property loss | Type | Severity | Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | $35,000 | Fires in structures other than in a building | Significant | Investigated |
| 2 | $5,000 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
Per-capita rates let us compare apples to apples. Manitou Springs sits above the national average for incidents per resident.
Top 25 wildfires (1992+) in the FPA-FOD ignitions database, scaled by acres. 332,157 acres burned in this 50-mile radius. Each dot is a fire — bigger dots burned more land.
| Year | Cause | Acres | Distance | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2002 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 137,760 | 30.0 mi | |
| 2018 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 42,795 | 25.5 mi | |
| 2012 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 18,947 | 2.1 mi | |
| 2013 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 16,580 | 12.0 mi | |
| 1996 | Recreation and ceremony | 11,875 | 40.3 mi | |
| 2005 | Natural | 11,357 | 48.0 mi | |
| 2000 | Smoking | 10,800 | 46.2 mi | |
| 2016 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 9,636 | 23.5 mi | |
| 2008 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 9,064 | 18.2 mi | |
| 2002 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 6,355 | 23.7 mi | |
| 2009 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 6,328 | 16.4 mi | |
| 2002 | Natural | 6,000 | 38.5 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 Manitou Springs. Useful comparison targets — same state, similar size, different fire profile.
2 departments report to NFIRS for incidents in Manitou Springs.
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.