Aurora Fire Rescue crews responded to a fire in the 12600 block of East Bates Circle shortly before 10 p.m. Sunday, after a resident called 911 to report someone was trapped inside, according to a news release from the agency. Fire officials initially reported that the house was in the 18600 block.

Firefighters “encountered flames, high heat and heavy smoke inside” the home, and got the fire under control at about 10:21 p.m., according to the release.

One person was found dead inside the home, and a dog was rescued and taken to an animal hospital, Aurora Fire Rescue officials said. The victim will be identified by the Arapahoe County Coroner’s Office.

No other injuries were reported, but another resident of the home was displaced by the fire, according to the fire department. The cause of the fire remains under investigation.

This is a developing story and may be updated.

The Aurora City Council is poised to ask voters this fall to break that funding drought. It’s set to take a final vote Monday night on three measures for the November ballot that would raise $264.5 million through bond sales to pay for dozens of projects across the city.

“There’s going to be 65 projects that we’re going to ask funding for,” said Councilman Curtis Gardner, who has worked for more than two years heading up a task force to determine what city priorities should receive funding.

Dubbed the bond issue is split into three buckets: transportation infrastructure, public safety and community facilities. Among the , if voters say yes, are a new fire station for the fast-growing southeast section of the city, a new recreation center in the city’s northeast and expansion of a stretch of overcrowded Gun Club Road to four lanes.

Also on tap would be a new library branch for the city’s northeast quadrant, improvements to two library branches, trail and road enhancements at the Aurora Reservoir, and replacement of the Peoria Street bridge over Sand Creek.

“The Peoria bridge was built in the early 1960s and has a 40-year lifespan,” Gardner said.

The bonds would be paid back through a 0.325% increase in Aurora’s sales and use tax, which amounts to just over 3 cents per $10 purchase.

That would mean the total sales tax shoppers would pay at stores in the Adams County portion of Aurora would go from 8.5% to 8.825%, Gardner said. In the part of the city that falls in Arapahoe County, the sales tax would jump from 8% to 8.325%.

The tax would sunset in 30 years. The council approved sending the measures to the ballot on a first reading earlier this month.

Five prior efforts to raise money through tax hikes of various stripes have failed at Aurora’s ballot box going back to 2005. But Gardner doesn’t think that will happen this time.

“One of the reasons it failed in the past is that there were no specific projects proposed,” he said. “People want to know where their money is going.”

Polling conducted earlier this year by Keating Research, Gardner said, showed that the Build Up Aurora ballot measures have solid support. And recently approved tax measures in the city indicate that voters are willing to open their wallets when they think the cause is worthy.

In November 2024, voters passed a $1 billion bond for Aurora Public Schools to build three new schools and complete other renovations and expansions. The Aurora district����ap $30 million mill levy — which will go toward general building maintenance, mental health services and teacher salaries — also passed.

In that same election, voters — many living in Aurora — released Arapahoe County from imposed by the Taxpayer’s Bill of Rights.

“Aurora voters have not always been averse to tax questions,” Gardner said.

The vote in Aurora will come just a year after voters in Denver passed a $950 million bond issue that was split into five ballot measures, with the money allocated to transportation and mobility, parks and recreation, health and human services, and housing.

Patrick Waggoner, the president of the Aurora Library Board of Trustees, said he is thankful for the approximately $24 million from the new city bond issue that would be spent to remodel the Mission Viejo and Central branches and build from scratch a new library near the Aurora Highlands neighborhood.

“There is absolutely nothing by the airport or south of it, or by Buckley (Space Force Base) — and that’s where all the growth is,” he said.

It was less than a year ago that Aurora closed two branches because of budgetary issues — bringing its branch count from seven to five. Waggoner is relieved that if the Build Up Aurora measures pass, the city will have one new branch to serve people.

“It’s like this third space, in this day and age, that provides the ability to check out a book, use a restroom for free, look for a job or take a class,” he said.

For Aurora Fire Rescue, the nearly $40 million that is identified in the ballot package for its facilities is a godsend to Justin Dodds, the president of Aurora Firefighters Protective Association Local 1290. The money would pay to refurbish two fire stations and build a new one in the underserved Southshore and Blackstone neighborhoods in southeast Aurora.

The union represents Aurora Fire Rescue’s 430 firefighters.

“The city of Aurora is continuing to develop out east, and we’re short of fire stations,” he said.

Response times to the southeast part of the city are not meeting standards, Dodds said.

Meanwhile, Fire Station 4, at East Mississippi Avenue and South Peoria Street, recently closed due to gas leaks. Dodds said the station was built in 1966 and was supposed to have a useful life of 25 years.

He hopes the money from the bond issue can help Aurora Fire Rescue stay ahead of the city’s growth, rather than just scrambling to keep up with it.

“We should be building stations at the same time communities are going in,” Dodds said.

Firefighters responded to the apartment blaze in the 700 block of North Dillon Way just before 1:30 a.m. Tuesday, according to a news release from Aurora Fire Rescue.

The building was evacuated, and firefighters were forced to withdraw and fight the flames from outside when the fire consumed the attic space shortly after 1:45 a.m., . A “partial structural collapse of the roof was imminent,” officials stated in the news release.

Roughly 75 firefighters, paramedics and police officers responded to the fire, according to the department. The flames damaged all three floors of the building and caused the roof to collapse, fire officials said.

Three aerial master streams are in use and portions of the roof have collapsed. Smoke will be visible from the area of I-225 and 6th Ave. as firefighters continue to extinguish the fire. The Red Cross is being called to assist numerous displaced residents.

[Video of the fire]

— Aurora Fire Rescue (@AuroraFireDpt)

showed fire devouring the roof as heavy smoke poured from the building. Fire engines dropped water on the flames from above.

Paramedics took two residents to hospitals for minor smoke inhalation, fire officials said. The fire impacted 24 apartments, displacing roughly 50 residents, according to the agency.

Aurora Fire Rescue officials at 2:28 a.m. Tuesday, roughly an hour after the flames first sparked.

The cause of the fire remains under investigation.

This is a developing story and may be updated.

Hoarding creates a three-pronged problem: it����ap easier for a fire to spark and spread, it makes it more difficult for people inside the home to escape and it complicates the job for firefighters, Aurora Fire Rescue spokesperson Eric Hurst said.

“It����ap complicated and dangerous for everyone involved,” Hurst said.

crews responded to the house fire near Lakewood, in the 1100 block of South Owens Court in Jefferson County, on Sunday morning.

Flames first caught in the kitchen, where the oven was being used to heat the house, according to the agency. Hoarded items blocked the home’s hallways and windows from door to ceiling, preventing firefighters from saving a man inside.

“We had to dig our way in to be able to search and get hose lines in there,” West Metro Fire Rescue Incident Commander Steve Kornegay said on Sunday. “Had that not been the case, this would have been a much, much quicker operation.”

When crews finally cleared a path, they found the 77-year-old homeowner dead. He will be identified by the Jefferson County Coroner’s Office.

Hoarding can stem from a variety of conditions and factors, often related to an emotional meaning behind the objects, said , who works in the University of Colorado Anschutz’s Department of Psychiatry.

Obsessive-compulsive disorder, post-traumatic stress disorder, attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder, dementia, chronic stress and other mental health conditions can all lead to hoarding, Hemendinger said. Roughly 50% of people who hoard have experienced trauma, she said.

The reason people hoard objects heavily depends on which factors are at play, Hemendinger said. Dementia-related hoarding is often an attempt to maintain control amid memory loss and confusion, while ADHD-related hoarding is linked to impulsivity and disorganization, she said.

“Hoarding in general is a tricky topic, and it����ap very misunderstood,” Hemendinger said. “There are a lot of complexities to it.”

For people with a , Hemendinger said it can feel life-threatening to throw items away. But not throwing those items away creates a real risk.

“Gathering those things, keeping all those things, it feels good in a way,” she said. “It����ap hard to stop something that feels good, and … it doesn’t always seem like a problem to them.”

Visibility inside a home on fire can drop to near zero within minutes as smoke fills the building, Hurst said. It����ap already challenging to escape in those conditions, and blocked or crowded hallways and exits can exacerbate the issue, he added.

Obstructed doors and windows also stop firefighters from easily entering the home to rescue people inside or put out the flames, Hurst said. Crowded rooms and corridors make it difficult for crews to bring in and maneuver machinery, such as a charged hose line, he said.

“It����ap really challenging when there’s not enough space for firefighters to work with,” Hurst said.

Denver firefighters ran up against those barriers in late 2024 while battling a blaze that sparked in the kitchen of a home in the city’s Berkeley neighborhood. Two people were injured in that fire, which officials said was difficult for the dozens of firefighters on scene to extinguish .

Hoarding also intensified a “stubborn house fire” in southwest Denver in March, creating “extreme heat and fire,” . Another blaze in April 2025 was difficult to access because of hoarding conditions, but no one was injured, . The department did not respond to multiple requests for comment.

Most house fires, like the fatal Sunday morning blaze in Jefferson County, start in the kitchen, Hurst said. Many people keep combustible items too close to the stove or appliances, he said. Hoarding conditions increase the fire risk, but the warning applies to everyone in the community.

Items should be kept at least three feet away from the stove or other sources of heat, including appliances, Hurst said.

Aurora firefighters occasionally encounter hoarding conditions when responding to active fires, but they see it much more often when responding to other calls, such as medical emergencies, Hurst said. Firefighters see blocked entry and exit points, counters piled high and no clear routes to leave the home in an emergency.

“Trying to think about these things that are uncomfortable to think about before the worst happens is really what we recommend,” Hurst said.

Aurora Fire Rescue responded to the in the city’s Sable Altura Chambers neighborhood, near East 22nd Avenue and Altura Boulevard, at 2:04 p.m. Wednesday.

The flames were under control by 2:19 p.m., according to a news release from the fire department.

One victim, an unidentified adult, was rescued from the house and taken to the hospital with critical injuries, where the victim later died, Aurora Fire Rescue officials confirmed in a . No other injuries were reported.

showed a charred home with flames licking the inside, and smoke wafting through the air around firefighters.

Five people living in the single-story building were displaced, fire officials said in the release.

The victim will be identified by the Adams County Coroner’s Office.

Information about the cause of the fire was not yet available on Thursday.

This is a developing story and may be updated.

Aurora firefighters went to the single-family home on the 15000 block of East Caspian Place and brought the fire under control, according to an posting at 7:32 a.m. on X.

Firefighters conducted searches and said four residents were evaluated on scene and that two were taken to a hospital, one with serious injuries. They said the cause of the fire is under investigation.

Final Update: Secondary searches of the residence have been completed and are negative. There are a total of four residents who have been evaluated by crews on scene. Two were transported, one with serious injuries and one with minor injuries. The cause of the fire is under…

— Aurora Fire Rescue (@AuroraFireDpt)

Aurora Fire Rescue first responded to the park at 2700 N. Peoria St. shortly after 7 p.m. Tuesday, according to a news release from the agency.

Firefighters rescued the man, who has not been publicly identified, and one of his three dogs from the pond, agency officials said.

Paramedics took the man to the hospital in critical condition, where he later died, Aurora Fire Rescue Public Information Officer Eric Hurst said in an email to The Denver Post.

One witness told rescuers that the man was walking near the ice-covered water with the three dogs. A few minutes later, the man and one of the dogs were both in the water. It’s unclear how the two ended up on the ice before they fell through.

The man who died will be identified by the Adams County Coroner’s Office.

South Metro Fire Rescue’s dive team also responded and searched the pond to see if anyone else fell through the ice, but no other victims were found, Aurora Fire Rescue officials said.

All three dogs survived and, as of Wednesday morning, were being cared for by Aurora Animal Services, according to the fire department.

“No ice is safe ice,” fire officials stated in the release. “If you see a person or pet fall through the ice, remain on shore and dial 911.”

This is a developing story and may be updated.

Aurora Fire Rescue crews responded to the just after 7 p.m., agency officials said. Aurora police and the South Metro Fire Rescue dive team also responded to the call.

A witness told rescuers that an unidentified adult was walking with three dogs near the ice-covered water, according to an update from Aurora Fire Rescue. A few minutes later, the witness saw a flashlight next to a hole in the ice and a dog in distress.

Aurora firefighters rescued the dog from 5- to 8-foot-deep water about 20 feet from shore, agency officials said. The crew also rescued the person submerged in the pond and took that person to the hospital in critical condition.

South Metro’s dive team searched the pond to see if anyone else fell through the ice, but no other victims were found, Aurora Fire Rescue officials said.

This is a developing story and may be updated.

Aurora patrol officers responded to a call at 7:24 a.m. Friday to assist Aurora Fire Rescue after a small fire was discovered in one of the hotel’s rooms.

Police said the suspect exited the hotel, located in the 14000 block of East Evans Avenue, as officers were responding and threatened fire personnel at the scene.

Officers located the suspect when they arrived and detained him. Once the suspect was in custody, firefighters entered the room and put out the fire.

Aurora Fire Rescue is leading an investigation into possible arson charges.

There were no injuries reported to hotel guests, firefighters or police officers, Aurora police said.

The suspect was taken to a local hospital for treatment of minor injuries sustained when he broke the hotel window.

Once the suspect is released from the hospital, he will be taken to the Aurora Municipal Detention Center.

Aurora police said they will release the suspect����ap name and charges once he is booked into jail. 

The crash happened on eastbound I-70 just west of E-470 at 8:26 a.m. when the driver of a 2020 Volvo semi rear-ended a 2026 Peterbilt semi before crashing into the median, according to the Colorado State Patrol.

The Volve tipped onto its side, spilled plastic cargo into westbound lanes and caught fire.

Flames fully engulfed the Volvo, and the fire shut down both directions of I-70 as emergency crews worked to douse the flames and clean up spilled diesel.

Fire crews contained the fire by 9:25 a.m., and most lanes were reopened by noon, the state patrol said.

Neither driver reported any injuries, and the Volvo driver was cited for careless driving.

Initial reports that the crash involved three semis were later revised.