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In 2025, fire departments serving Trinidad responded to 205 fire and hazmat incidents — from cooking fires to gas leaks to a single $150K building blaze. Here's the full picture.
Aircraft standby lead by count. Building fires lead by dollars. Together the top five categories make up about 70% of all calls.
Dec peaks. Oct dips. Watch for the typical fall climb starting in October.
1,082 incidents 2021–2025. Peak year was 2024. $1.7M cumulative property loss. 1 civilian deaths.
| Year | Incidents | YoY | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2021 | 198 | — | |
| 2022 | 205 | +3.5% | |
| 2023 | 229 | +11.7% | |
| 2024 | 245 | +7.0% | |
| 2025 | 205 | -16.3% |
For the 18 building fires Trinidad departments responded to in 2025, here's how they were classified once investigators were finished.
NFIRS Area of Origin (AREA_ORIG) for the 225 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 | 57 | 25.3% | |
| 2 | Engine area, running gear, wheel area | 29 | 12.9% | |
| 3 | Wildland, woods | 15 | 6.7% | |
| 4 | Highway, parking lot, street: on or near | 14 | 6.2% | |
| 5 | Open area - outside; included are farmland, field | 13 | 5.8% | |
| 6 | Other | 8 | 3.6% | |
| 7 | Cooking area, kitchen | 8 | 3.6% | |
| 8 | Undetermined | 7 | 3.1% | |
| 9 | Vehicle area, other | 6 | 2.7% | |
| 10 | Railroad right of way: on or near | 6 | 2.7% | |
| 11 | All other areas | 62 | 27.6% |
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 Trinidad mix.
| # | Heat source | Count | Share | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Undetermined | 104 | 46.2% | |
| 2 | Hot ember or ash | 25 | 11.1% | |
| 3 | Arcing | 15 | 6.7% | |
| 4 | Heat source: other | 12 | 5.3% | |
| 5 | Cigarette lighter | 12 | 5.3% | |
| 6 | Heat from powered equipment, other | 11 | 4.9% | |
| 7 | Spark, ember or flame from operating equipment | 8 | 3.6% | |
| 8 | Hot or smoldering object, other | 6 | 2.7% | |
| 9 | Heat, spark from friction | 6 | 2.7% | |
| 10 | Radiated, conducted heat from operating equipment | 5 | 2.2% | |
| 11 | All other sources | 21 | 9.3% |
Largest single-incident property losses reported by Trinidad departments in 2025. These 8 fires alone account for 96% of the city's annual total.
| # | Property loss | Type | Severity | Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | $150,000 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
| 2 | $50,000 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
| 3 | $20,000 | Building fires | Significant | Investigated |
| 4 | $15,000 | Passenger vehicle fire | Significant | Investigated |
| 5 | $10,000 | Passenger vehicle fire | Significant | Investigated |
| 6 | $5,000 | Passenger vehicle fire | Significant | Investigated |
| 7 | $5,000 | Fire in motor home, camper, recreational vehicle | Significant | Investigated |
| 8 | $5,000 | Road freight or transport vehicle fire | Significant | Investigated |
Per-capita rates let us compare apples to apples. Trinidad sits above the national average for incidents per resident.
Top 25 wildfires (1992+) in the FPA-FOD ignitions database, scaled by acres. 330,537 acres burned in this 50-mile radius. Each dot is a fire — bigger dots burned more land.
| Year | Cause | Acres | Distance | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2018 | Arson/incendiarism | 107,995 | 49.2 mi | |
| 2008 | Natural | 45,814 | 46.5 mi | |
| 2011 | Natural | 35,583 | 44.9 mi | |
| 2002 | Natural | 33,000 | 29.1 mi | |
| 2011 | Equipment and vehicle use | 19,970 | 17.0 mi | |
| 2013 | Natural | 13,572 | 29.8 mi | |
| 2018 | Natural | 8,432 | 34.2 mi | |
| 2002 | Natural | 6,275 | 33.7 mi | |
| 2011 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 6,140 | 26.0 mi | |
| 2011 | Natural | 6,000 | 17.7 mi | |
| 2010 | Debris and open burning | 5,100 | 39.4 mi | |
| 2008 | Natural | 4,980 | 29.0 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 Trinidad. Useful comparison targets — same state, similar size, different fire profile.
3 departments report to NFIRS for incidents in Trinidad.
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.