Firefighters across metro Denver responded to hundreds of fires likely sparked by fireworks on the Fourth of July, with several agencies reporting an increase in fire activity on whatap already one of their busiest days of the year. An adult and a child also were hospitalized in incidents involving fireworks.
The Denver Fire Department responded to multiple house fires Thursday night amid Fourth of July celebrations, but the department has yet to confirm whether the flames were started by fireworks.
Denver fire crews responded to 476 calls for service between 8 a.m. Thursday and 8 a.m. Friday, including seven structure fires and 119 fires in trash, weeds or elsewhere.
Call data for previous Fourth of July holidays was not immediately available, but spokesperson J.D. Chism said it’s usually much busier than a typical summer night. Over a similar period in June, Denver firefighters responded to two single-family house fires, one commercial structure fire, two warehouse fires and 28 trash or weed fires.
Firefighters were on the scene of two house fires near East 52nd Avenue and Altura Street around 11:40 p.m. Thursday after flames started in one house and spread to another, according to the department.
— Denver Fire Department (@Denver_Fire)
Both fires were extinguished around 12:15 a.m., and Denver crews remained on scene to ensure all the hot spots were out and to prevent the fire from reigniting, fire officials said. Residents from both homes were displaced and relocated with help from the Red Cross.
Aurora Fire Rescue crews responded to 250 calls for service from 8 a.m. Thursday to 8 a.m. Friday, said fire department spokesperson Sean Dunnion.
That number includes both fire and medical calls, but 108 calls came in between 8 p.m. and midnight, Dunnion said.
“Thatap hopping,” Dunnion said. “Fourth of July is one of our busiest times of year, for sure, and thatap an incredible amount of calls to run on.”
Data on fires started on previous Fourth of July holidays was not readily available, Dunnion said. The fire department is investigating each of the fires to determine which ones were sparked by fireworks, but the department is “pretty confident the majority of grass fires were firework-related,” he said.
South Metro Fire Rescue responded to 45 fires and transported two people — one adult and one child from separate incidents — to the hospital between 6 p.m. and midnight on Thursday,
Thatap about a 50% increase in Fourth of July calls for the departmentap service area compared to years past, said spokesperson Eric Hurst. South Metro Fire serves 540,000 residents over roughly 300 square miles in Arapahoe, Douglas and Jefferson counties.
“It is significantly more than usual, and there’s not an obvious explanation for why there was an increase,” Hurst said.
Calls for firework-sparked fires continued into Friday, when South Metro crews responded to a grass fire at 6 a.m. in Englewood’s Cherry Hills Village. Witnesses reported hearing a loud boom and seeing smoke, and a firework was found on the trail through the 22,500-square-foot burn area, according to South Metro officials.
North Metro Fire Rescue also saw an increase in calls on Thursday, starting with a house fire in Broomfield near The Field Open Space .
North Metro Fire operates seven fire stations that serve residents in Broomfield, Northglenn and unincorporated areas of Adams, Boulder, Jefferson and Weld counties.
A typical Fourth of July weekend includes around six firework-sparked fires in North Metro’s service area, said spokesperson Sara Farris. This year, fire crews responded to or assisted other fire departments with 22 fires most likely caused by fireworks.
“It was significantly higher than what we typically had in years past, and I’m not sure why,” Farris said.
While most of Thursday night’s fires are still under investigation, North Metro fire investigators confirmed the house fire that started in the 700 block of Birch Street in Broomfield was sparked by fireworks.
To the west, West Metro Fire Rescue saw another 29 fires between 6 p.m. and 2 a.m. on the Fourth of July, the fire department said in . The agency serves nearly 300,000 residents in Lakewood, Morrison, Golden, Wheat Ridge and Edgewater, as well as sections of Jefferson and Douglas counties and unincorporated Littleton.
Most of the fires were related to fireworks, West Metro officials said, including one structure fire that started after a family disposed of used fireworks in a trash can in the garage.
This year was a slight increase in fires compared to years past, said spokesperson Ronda Scholting. In 2022, the fire district responded to 24 fires on the Fourth of July.
The best way holiday revelers can prevent firework-related fires is to take precautions before lighting the first fuse, according to Hurst.
People who want to light fireworks should first make sure they are permitted in that neighborhood, and then make sure to light them on a surface where nothing can catch fire, like asphalt, cement or a rocky area. Revelers should follow manufacturer instructions on keeping a clear perimeter, usually at least six feet.
People should have a bucket of water, garden hose or fire extinguisher on hand in case they need to put out a fire and dispose of used fireworks by submerging them in a bucket of water overnight, Hurst said.
