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.

South Metro Fire Rescue responded to the fire at about 1 a.m. at 2020 South Parker Road in unincorporated Arapahoe County. The fire started in the Gyros and Kabobs restaurant, which was heavily damaged, South Metro spokeswoman Jenn Abraham said.

The fire might have burned through a wall of a pizza restaurant next door, but fire investigators are still assessing the damage to other buildings.

The Arapahoe County Sheriff’s Office and Aurora Fire Rescue also responded to the fire. Abraham said about 10 pieces of equipment and approximately 40 people helped fight the fire. No injuries were reported. Crews wrapped up work around 4 a.m.

The South Metro fire marshal is investigating to determine what caused the fire. There are at least six businesses in the strip center. Water, electricity and natural gas have been turned off, and the businesses are closed.

Firefighters responded to a fire alarm in the 1300 block of Florence Street at about 11:00 a.m. Thursday, according to a news release from Aurora Fire Rescue.

Several people called 911 to report smoke coming from inside the three-story apartment building, fire officials said.

As firefighters searched the building, they rescued a dog hiding in one of the rooms and returned the uninjured animal to its owner, according to the agency.

The fire sparked in the kitchen of an apartment and was mostly extinguished by the building’s sprinkler system, Aurora fire officials said. Crews got the remaining flames under control in about 10 minutes.

The flames did not spread into the neighboring units, according to Aurora Fire Rescue.

No one was injured, but two adults, two children and a dog were displaced by the fire, agency officials said. The cause remains under investigation.

Aurora firefighters responded to the fire in the 700 block of North Norfolk Way, near where the street intersects with East Seventh Avenue, at 7:10 p.m. Tuesday, according to a news release from Aurora Fire Rescue.

The Aurora home is about 4 miles northwest of Buckley Space Force Base and 2 miles southeast of where Interstate 225 meets East Colfax Avenue.

Photos posted by the agency show a with char spreading down the house’s exterior walls and ladders balanced on the home near .

The fire caused major damage inside and outside the home, as well as to a small detached structure in the backyard, fire officials said in the news release.

Witnesses who called 911 first spotted the fire on the home’s back patio. When firefighters arrived, they found the back of the home already engulfed in flames, with fire spreading on both floors of the home and to the attic, officials said.

It’s unclear what caused the fire, but the fire department said it was accidental.

None of the home’s residents or their pets were injured. The fire was under control by 7:30 p.m., agency officials said.