DENVER FIRE JOURNAL Western Fire History

Tuesday, December 9, 2014

1940-1949

Elitch Gardens - 1944

On Feb. 4, 1941, the boiler of a Denver & Rio Grande Western locomotive exploded in a railroad yard in southwest Denver, injuring 25 people. [Associated Press] Denver firefighter Ray Shaffer said: "We found people wondering around over a whole square block, so dazed they didn't know what they were doing. We just put them in ambulances and automobiles and sent them to hospitals."
On May 19, 1941, fire destroyed the shops of the Union Pacific Railroad in Cheyenne, Wyoming. Cheyenne Fire Chief Ed Taylor said: "There is no doubt in my mind but that the fire was deliberately set or had a hell of a lot of help." [Associated Press story in Lewiston Morning Tribune of Idaho] Soldiers from Fort Warren assisted city firemen and Union Pacific crews in the four-hour fight. The fire destroyed the mill and wheel shops, a grease reclamation plant and five cabooses. Flames spread swiftly over the 1-1/2 blocks. Union Pacific President William M. Jeffers agreed with the fire chief that the blaze was of incendiary origin. [International News Service story in Deseret News of Salt Lake City]
On Oct. 5, 1942, fire struck the Aladdin Theatre in Denver. [DFD]
On Jan. 8, 1943, fire destroyed the hangar and eight aircraft at Walker Field, municipal airport of Grand Junction, Colorado. [Steamboat Pilot, Colorado Historic Newspaper Collection]
On Jan. 21, 1943, fire destroyed 23 barracks for prisoners of war at Camp Carson in Colorado Springs. [AP story in Telegraph-Herald of Dubuque, Iowa] Colorado Springs firemen stopped the blaze from spreading to a warehouse.
On June 27, 1943, railroad cars carrying World War Two munitions caught fire and exploded at Grand Junction, Colorado, and showered part of the western end of the city with shells, shrapnel and debris for several hours. It was too dangerous for firefighters to get close enough to play hose lines on the flaming rail cars. Several people were injured, including Charles Downing, the city's fire chief. Downing was standing at the corner of a warehouse when an exploding shell shattered his arm. He walked about two blocks for help. Surgeons amputated his arm at the hospital. They also administered two pints of blood. [Associated Press story in St. Petersburg Times of Florida] A separate dispatch [International News Service] said authorities "sought clues linking a possible saboteur ring," but officials of the Denver Rio Grand and Western Railroad suggested an overheated axle or brakes were the mostly likely source of the fire. [AP] German prisoners of war were camped in the Grand Junction area during World War Two.
On Sept. 20, 1943, near Rollinsville, Colorado, three members of the Denver Fire Department died in a fire and roof collapse in railroad tunnel. [Associated Press] The flames burned away the tunnel's supporting timbers. The dead firemen - Vernon Parrish, Jim Williams and Jack Kennedy - were part of a team sent to provide mutual aid at the blaze, about 27 miles west of Denver. The fire started in brush and spread to the 1,800-foot tunnel of the Denver & Salt Lake Railway. The bodies of Williams and Kennedy were buried in the debris for weeks. The body of Parrish, assistant superintendent of the Denver Fire Department shops, was located about 100 feet inside the tunnel. [AP]
On Sept. 26, 1943, a four-engined B-24 Liberator bomber crashed in a residential section in south Denver, killing at least seven airmen. [Associated Press] The aircraft was based at Lowry Field in Denver. It struck a wooden garage adjacent to a wide vacant lot. Flames scorched nearby houses. Homer La Pee, of 2508 South Downing Street, witnessed the crash from his backyard. He said: "When it was directly overhead, the pilot must have noticed the vacant lot because it looked to me like he was trying to pancake a landing. It all happened within a split second. The plane crashed and exploded. A sheet of flame shot up about 60 feet and seemed to fall over the houses. The heat was so intense that you couldn't get close. I noticed wreckage flying through the air over the front of the plane within a split second after the crash." [AP story in Daily Tribune of Greeley, Colorado]
On July 16, 1944, a fire "swept through a darkened 'tunnel of love'" at the Elitch Gardens amusement park in Denver. Six people died. [United Press] The "Old Mill" boat ride featured oil-painted canvas to recreate scenes from around the world. The fire led to changes in Denver's municipal fire code. Four of the dead were "soldiers and their wives" and "the other two dead were park employes who rushed into the tunnel to rescue the occupants." [United Press story in The New York Times]
On June 25, 1945, the Denver Fire Department responded to a fire at the military's Rocky Mountain Arsenal, northeast of the city. [Associated Press] AP described the incident as a "conflagration" in "a section" of the arsenal. [AP story in St. Petersburg Times]
On Dec. 14, 1945, fire destroyed the Hotel Glenwood in Glenwood Springs, Colorado. In the aftermath of the fire, Police Chief Charles Wells was quoted as saying as many as 15 people were missing. The number of casualties was much lower. [Associated Press and United Press stories in Tuscaloosa News of Alabama; AP story in Miami News] The four-story brick building was gutted; the front wall collapsed into Main Street. The hotel was built in the late 19th Century. Firefighters played water on the nearby Foster Hospital to prevent the flames from spreading. It "got pretty hot for them in the hospital," said hotel manager Charles McCarthy, who discovered the fire in a shop in the hotel.
On Oct. 8, 1946, a United Air Lines DC-4 "Mainliner" crashed on approach to the airport at Cheyenne, Wyoming. "About 30 persons were out of the plane and walking around when we arrived," Cheyenne Fire Chief Ralph Garnett. Two people were found dead in the wreckage. About 10 others were injured. The crash occurred on the Fort Warren military installation, 1-1/2 miles northwest of the airport. The aircraft missed an Army ammunition warehouse by 100 yards, Sheriff Norbert Tuck said. [Associated Press story in Spokane Daily Chronicle, Washington, Oct. 8, 1946]
On Nov. 27, 1946, fifteen firefighters were "overcome" at fire in the Fort Collins business district. [United Press story in Milwaukee Journal]
On May 31, 1947, a natural gas explosion destroyed a two-story, brick apartment building at 35 West Dakota Ave., Denver, and killed three people, including Gertrude Rowan, 60, and her grandson, Richard Rowan, 11. [Associated Press story in Spokane Daily Chronicle.] Rescue efforts were slowed by gas leaking from the timber and brick rubble. "The entire building went up in the air and settled down on the foundation," said Wanda Ough of Granby, Colorado.
On July, 17, 1947, the Denver Fire Department helped Army firefighters avert disaster at the Rocky Mountain Arsenal by controlling a fire that seared storage tanks holding deadly chlorine gas. [Associated Press] "We'd have been powerless if those tanks exploded," Denver Fire Chief Allie Feldman said. The fire started in coal bunkers at a powerhouse near the chlorine tanks. [AP story in Evening Independent of St. Petersburg, Florida]
On Feb. 16, 1948, four men were injured fighting a fire in downtown Durango, Colorado. The fire was preceded by an explosion. Flames rose 80 feet. Two large buildings were burned out. Other smaller structures were damaged. Mutual aid responded from Cortez, Colorado and Aztec, New Mexico. (Associated Press in The Deseret News)
On April 14, 1948, fire destroyed an entire business block in Laramie, Wyoming. Firefighters from Fort Collins, Colorado, joined Wyoming fire crews - from Cheyenne, Rawlins and Fort Francis E. Warren - in providing mutual aid to the Laramie Fire Department. [Associated Press story in Amarillio Daily News of Texas]
On Aug. 1, 1948, a four-alarm fire struck the Ace Box Co., 2950 Platte River Drive, Denver. The plant was the scene of major fires in the 1950s, 1960s and 1970s as well. [Denver Firefighters Museum]

1930-1939

Barnett Building, Denver - 1932

On Feb. 1, 1930, about a dozen inmates attempted to escape the state penitentiary in Canon City, Colorado, after a fire broke out in cell house No. 4. [Associated Press dispatch in Southeast Missourian newspaper] The fire destroyed the tailor shop and the carpenter shop. Firemen from Florence provided mutual aid to the Canon City Fire Department. The National Guard was also summoned to patrol the streets near the prison.
On Aug. 27, 1930, chlorine gas escaped from a railroad tank car and drifted into the Denver Fire Clay Co. plant. Twenty-three people, including 13 Denver firemen, were overcome by the yellow fumes. [Associated Press story in Lewiston Sun of Maine] The firemen weren't equipped with gas masks. The tank car contained 16 tons of liquid chlorine. J.W. Gibbs, a plant worker, donned a mask to close a leaking valve on the tank car. Physicians said the victims were subject to pneumonia.
On Dec. 30, 1930, in Rock Springs, Wyoming, "Firemen rushed into J. H. Cox's blazing shooting gallery, only to rush right out again. Eleven ducks and seventeen turkeys intended as prizes to marksmen protested loudly as they roasted, but the firemen were busy dodging 4,000 rounds of exploding rifle ammunition." [Associated Press in Dallas Morning News]
On March 17, 1931, a bomb destroyed the North Denver home of bootlegger Pete Carlino. Denver firemen combed the ruins for bodies. There were no casualties. Carlino, his wife and seven children were away. Carlino had attempted to extend his operation to Denver from Pueblo. In retaliation, gunmen had ambushed Carlino on a Denver street in February. He survived. On May 8, 1931, Carlino's brother, Sam, and another gangster were shot to death in North Denver. Pete Carlino finally met a violent end on Sept. 10 or 11 while traveling from Denver to Canon City. His body was found on a rural road. It was riddled with bullets. In the aftermath of the Carlino slayings, North Denver was rocked by a series of mysterious bombings on the night of Sept. 28, 1931. The original bombing, however, was determined to be a deliberate attempt by the Carlino gang to collect insurance money. Three gang members were convicted of the crime. Pete Carlino also faced charges and was out on bail when he died. [Associated Press, United Press]
On Feb. 17, 1932, fire broke out at the Barnett Building at 16th and Larimer streets in downtown Denver. Six firefighters and a watchman suffered burns and smoke inhalation in harsh conditions. Frozen hose spray glazed streets, trolley lines and fire crews while flames roared from above. "Fire Chief Healy, veteran smoke eater and one of the best known firefighters in the country, narrowly escaped death," the Associated Press reported in that day's Evening Gazette of Berkeley, California.
On April 12, 1932, a bomb exploded at Paradise Cleaning and Dyeing in Denver after the plant's owners refused to pay protection money to gangsters. Joseph Bitman, a part owner of the plant, told police he had been approached by representatives of the "protective association" and also received threats over the telephone. [United Press story in Berkeley Daily Gazette of California.] "Highly inflammable cleaning solution had been poured over the floor of the plant in an apparent effort to destroy the entire building" [United Press] "In some manner, the explosion failed to set off the cleaning fluid." Police said the bombing may have been a warning to others.
On May 21, 1933, an fire in a coal seam spread to the surface of Carbon Mountain near Durango, Colorado. [Associated Press story in Lewiston Morning Tribune, Idaho, May 21, 1933]
On Aug. 2-3, 1933, three to nine inches of rain in 9 hours caused Castlewood Dam on Cherry Creek to fail; seven people died in Denver. [National Weather Service] "Denver police and firemen with sirens going full blast sped through the Country club residential district warning everyone to flee from their homes in the lowland area. Emergency ambulance corps took invalids from many homes." [AP report in Billings Gazette]
On June 28, 1934, an explosion and fire destroyed three buildings in midtown Cheyenne, Wyoming. Firefighters recovered the bodies of three women from the ruins. The force of the blast shattered windows a block away. [United Press report in Telegraph Herald, Dubuque, Iowa, June 28, 1934]
On Nov. 30, 1934, Andrew Mahon, assistant Denver fire chief, was killed when a brick wall collapsed at a fire at the Midwest Trunk & Bag Co., 1524 15th St., in the city's downtown warehouse district. [Associated Press] About a dozen other firefighters were "hurtled from ladders" into the "furnace of flames" and pulled from the debris "by heroic comrades." [AP] "Cries of horror went up from the spectators and firemen dropped hose lines to race to the aid of the trapped men." The fire also gutted the Colorado Implement Co., located next to the blazing trunk factory. [AP dispatches in San Jose News of California and Morning Tribune of Lewiston, Idaho.]
On May 20, 1935, fire broke out at the Casanova, night club of the famous Brown Palace Hotel in Denver. "Flimsy draperies and hanging decorations in the Casanova went up like tinder, pouring smoke and gas fumes through the hotel." [United Press stories in Pittsburgh Press, Berkeley Daily Gazette on California] "Some of the guests rushed to the windows and threatened to jump. Firemen produced nets, but prevented any from jumping by calling to them to remain in their rooms." Several guests were carried down ladders by firemen. The Casanova, itself, was demolished along with musical instruments belonging to the "Husk O'Hare Orchestra." Fire Chief John Healy said the fire was caused by "an explosion of gas fumes."
On Aug. 26, 1935, Warren Cramer, 17, son of a prominent dentist from Oakland, California, confessed to setting 20 fires across Denver in five days, including blazes at a Catholic cathedral, two Catholic churches and City Hall. [United Press story in Telegraph-Herald of Dubuque, Iowa] At first, police had suspected a "religious fanatic" or "Nazi sympathizer. Cramer used a stolen bicycle to move from fire to fire. He went onto an "eight-year career of thievery, arson and jail breaking" and was executed in California's gas chamber at San Quentin on May 14, 1943, for the slaying of Ernest Saxton, a San Francisco drug store clerk. [United Press story in Bend Bulletin of Oregon]
1937: Collins Opera House burned in Creede, Colorado. [operaoldcolo.info]
On Aug. 21, 1937, the Blackwater forest fire killed 15 firefighters near Cody, Wyoming.
On Jan. 24, 1939, fire reduced the Cabin Hotel in Steamboat Springs, Colorado, to ashes in less than an hour, killing Merle Sweet, 71,and Mildred Keltner, 24. The fire started in the south wing of the 100-room hotel, near chimneys leading to the furnace room and kitchen. [Steamboat Pilot, Colorado Historic Newspapers Collection]
On Jan. 30, 1939, three truckloads of dynamite exploded at the Colorado Portland Cement Company plant, six miles north of Fort Collins, instantly killing two workers and injuring four others. [International News Service story in Telegraph-Herald of Dubuque, Iowa] The dynamite "was being thawed" for use in a quarry near the cement plant.
On March 8, 1939, fire struck the planing mill at the Durango Lumber Co. in Durango, Colorado, and burned for five hours. [Oak Creek Times, Colorado Historic Newspapers Collection]
On Aug. 12, 1939, rescuers used acetylene torches to free victims of the collision of two passenger trains at a crossover that killed two people and injured more than 50 others in south Denver. [Associated Press story in Telegraph-Herald of Dubuque, Iowa.] A Denver, Rio Grande and Western train slammed into a coach on the Santa Fe's "Navaho." The crossover was located a block south of the Alameda Avenue overpass. A coroner's jury later ruled faulty brakes prevent Denver Rio Grande engineer William Meade from stopping his train.
On Dec. 27, 1939, the Anna Dora Opera House burned in Delta, Colorado.

1920-1929

On May 8, 1920, fire destroyed the men's building at the Jewish Consumptives' Relief Society hospital in Denver. Sparks from the power plant smokestack ignited the blaze. [Oak Creek Times, Colorado Historic Newspapers Collection]
On June 28, 1920, fire destroyed the machinery and stock at Alexander's Candy Land in Loveland. [Loveland Reporter] Flames damaged adjacent Loveland Packing Company but spared the Waddell Bakery. Defective flue blamed.
On Aug. 5 and Aug. 6, 1920, rioting broke out during the Denver streetcar strike. Seven people died of gunshots. Two streetcars were set ablaze at 40th and Williams. Rioters also attempted to set fire to a car barn. Additionally, street cars were overturned and vandalized and the Denver Post building was ransacked. Federal troops from Fort Logan restored order. ["Tramway Strike of 1920," By Edward Thomas Devine et al]
Sept. 6, 1920: Ten persons were killed and 100 others were injured when two interurban electric cars of the Denver & Interurban Railroad collided head-on at Globeville, Colorado. Among the dead was Judge R.S. Morrison. [Electric Railway Journal, Sept. 18, 1920] A later account placed the death toll at 12 and more than 200 injured.
On Sept. 10, 1920, John S. Federhen, 30, a member of the Cheyenne (Wyoming) Fire Department, was shot to death inside the city fire station by a Chinese man fleeing an immigration official. Federal agent Thomas Holland, 48, was also wounded and died about a week later. The assailant, Yee Geow, was executed by hanging on March 11, 1921.
On Dec. 22, 1921, fire destroyed the chemistry building at Colorado State University in Fort Collins; low water pressure prevented firefighters from attacking the blaze. The building was in flames when the alarmed was turned in from Box 81 at Laurel and College avenues at 2:30 a.m. "sharp" by C.M. Cooksie, a member of the Alpha Psi fraternity. [Fort Collins Courier, Colorado Historic Newspapers Collection]
March 1, 1922, fire destroyed the Pueblo Opera House.
June 21, 1922: Fire at Western Laundry Company in central Denver. "The fire was going through the roof and the building was entirely involved when the department arrived at 6:08 p.m. in response to a box alarm. This was owing to the fact that the night watchman lost fully a half an hour in attempting to fight the fire himself with the aid of a garden hose. By the time he realized that he could not extinguish the fire the entire building was in flames. He then called the fire department." [From Fire and Water Engineering, Aug. 9, 1922 edition]
On March 17, 1923: Fire destroyed the stockyards in Pueblo during a blizzard. [Telluride Daily Journal, Colorado Historical Newspapers Collection]
On Dec. 31, 1923, overheated furnaces caused a pair of fatal apartment house fires as Denver contended with temperatures below zero. [Associated Press]. The first fire, at 13th and Acoma streets, claimed the life of Beatrice Jones, 38, a school teacher, who jumped from a third-floor window. Two other teachers, Evelyn Larrimore and Mary Olson, were injured. The second fire, at 21st and Tremont streets, killed Eula Kramer, who was trapped by the flames. Three other people -- Earl Duskey, his sister Beatrice Duskey and Myrtle Wheelock -- were injured when they fell or jumped. [AP story in Miami News-Metropolis.
On about Aug. 8, 1924, the U.S. government land office in Cheyenne, Wyoming, received word that the settlement of Cold Springs was destroyed by a forest fire. Two fires in the Elk Mountain district were reported by air mail pilots. Four fires in the Green Mountain district were also burning. [The Rock Valley Bee, Rock Valley, Iowa]
On Jan. 6, 1925, fire destroyed the National Hotel in Durango, Colorado, sending guests jumping from windows into a snowbank. The blaze also threatened the Palace Hotel. [Longmont Daily Times, Colorado Historic Newspapers Collection]

On Dec. 4-5, 1925, members of the Denver Fire Department participated in the rescue of 32 miners trapped by a fire at the Fairview mine near Nederland in Boulder County. [Associated Press dispatch in Spokesman-Review of Spokane, Washington] Rescuers drilled an emergency shaft through "40 feet of rock and earth." John Crenshaw (sic), a Denver fire captain, was seriously overcome by fumes, Denver Fire Chief John Healy said. Clarence Jansen, a Denver fire lieutenant, was pulled to the surface in a "semi-conscious state" after he had given his gas mask to the crippled fire captain.
On Dec. 16, 1926, fire struck the main manufacturing building at American Crate and Basket Co., 4700 Clarkson St., Denver. The fire illuminated the stockyards district. Firemen A.J. Wedmer, Albert Wells and John Wilson were injured jumping 20 feet from a shed when a wall collapsed. It was Wells' first injury in his 36 years as a member of the Denver Fire Dept. [Longmont Daily Times, Colorado Historic Newspapers Collection]

On April 6, 1927, a fire and explosion at the Parco, Wyoming, oil refinery killed at least 17 people. (Parco is now known as Sinclair, Wyoming)
On July 8,1927, an early morning fire damaged the Broadway Theatre in Denver. The blaze started in the properties room and spread to the curtain loft before it was stopped. The adjacent Cosmopolitan Hotel sustained smoke damage. Delegates to the Optmists convention were meeting at the hotel. Guests in various stages of dress watched from behind police lines. Others stood on fire escapes to view the action. [Longmont Daily Times, Colorado Historic Newspapers Collection]
On Aug. 8, 1927, a three-alarm fire gutted the top floor of the Don Hogan Inc. building at 1227 Broadway, Denver. Flames also damaged Stephan-Miller Inc. at 1225 Broadway ad Permo Washing Co. at 1235 Broadway. [Longmont Daily Times, Colorado Historic Newspapers Collection]
On March 19, 1928, Colorado House, one of Denver's oldest hotels, was "partially destroyed" by fire. [Associated Press story in Providence News of Rhode Island] Several people jumped from windows. Bert Hart, a resident of the hotel, was "believed to have been fatally burned" [AP] Residents Roy Bender and William Caphert also suffered life-threatening injuries. Denver Fire Chief John Healy and three other firemen were "cut and bruised" by falling timbers.
On April 20, 1928, 11 people died in a fire at the Alexander Industries plant in the Denver suburb of Englewood. Many others were injured. The fire was preceded by a series of explosions in or near the paint shop. [Associated Press story in Telegraph-Herald and Times-Journal of Dubuque, Iowa, other newspapers]. The plant manufactured aircraft and other machinery. The fire may have been caused by a short circuit in an electric fan. [AP story in Sarasota Herald-Tribune of Florida] Employee Richard Trenari, 21, said: "The flames spread rapidly and soon the whole of the west wing was in flames. It was a terrible inferno."
On July 29, 1928 in Gurnsey, Wyoming: "Eight unidentified men were burned to death in a spectacular freight train wreck on the Burlington Railroad ... tank cars comprised the greater part of the train of 27 cars and flaming gasoline spread from the wreck down the Platte River for several miles, causing the river to appear as though it were on fire." [Associated Press story in Plattsburgh Sentinel of New York]
On Sept. 6, 1928, a general alarm fire consumed to Loop Market block in downtown Denver. Twelve firefighters suffered injuries and 10 others received oxygen at the scene. [Associated Press story in Eugene Register-Guard of Oregon]
On Oct. 12, 1928, Denver's Truck 12 and Pumper 7 collided at West 44th Street and Federal Boulevard in Denver, killing three firemen. Truck 12 and Pumper 7 were responding to a fire call.
On Oct. 3, 1929, 13 guards and inmates died during a riot and fire at the state penitentiary in Canon City, Colorado. Inmates took guards hostage in a botched escape attempt. The Canon City Fire Department received mutual aid from Pueblo and other fire departments. Guards eventually put down the riot.
On Dec. 21, 1929, Denver fireman Elmer Hargis of Engine 15 lay ill in St. Anthony's Hospital in need of a blood transfusion. District Chief P.J. Boyne asked for donors. Firemen Ben Miller, James Williams, Joe Bernstein, Thomas Seely, Dan Nash and Ray Warne were chosen as candidates. Seely was deemed best match. "From those who volunteered I chose every type of man," Boyne said. "I chose a large one, a small one, a fat one, a thin one. There is no religion, no race in an emergency likes this." Denver Post]

1910-1919

On March 8, 1910, fire destroyed Griffin Wheel Co. plant in Denver. [Montrose Daily Press, Colorado Historic Newspapers Collection]
On May 30, 1910, fire gutted the fourth and fifth floors of the Spratlen-Anderson grocery wholesalers, 1638 Fifteenth St., Denver. "More than a score of firemen and volunteers were overcome by smoke, several having narrow escapes," the Yampa Leader newspaper said in its June 3 edition. The flames broke out in store rooms used by the International Harvester Company. [Colorado Historic Newspaper Collection]
On Nov. 11, 1910, fire destroyed the McMurty Manufacturing Co. paint plant in Denver. [Aspen Democrat-Times, Colorado Historic Newspapers Collection]
In March 1911, a boiler explosion at the Minnequa steel plant of the Colorado Fuel & Iron Co. in Pueblo killed three men and injured five others. The boiler was located in the rod mill. [The New Era of Parker, South Dakota, 3/24/1911]
Editor's Note: Boilers posed many hazards in late 19th century and early 20th century. In 1911, there were 499 boiler explosions reported in the U.S., accounting for 222 deaths and 416 injuries, according to statistics from the Hartford Steam Boiler Inspection & Insurance Co. [Journal of The Cleveland Engineering Society, 5/1913]
On Sept. 20, 1911, an incendiary fire damaged a macaroni and noodle factory in Denver. [Steamboat Pilot, Colorado Historic Newspapers Collection]
On Nov. 14, 1911, flames fed by strong winds struck the White City amusement park at Lakeside, Colorado, outside Denver, destroying the scenic railway and adjoining North Pole attraction. Lakeside's volunteer firefighters were credited with saving the park. The Denver Fire Dept. provided mutual aid. [Aspen Democrat-Times, Colorado Historic Newspapers Collection]
On Jan. 8, 1912, the Grey Opera House burned in Montrose, Colorado. [operaoldcolo.info]
On Jan. 19, 1912, dynamite wrecked the Colorado Laundry and Globe Express Company in the business district of Pueblo. [Youngstown Vindicator of Ohio] The laundry was a "non-union plant."
On Dec. 16, 1912, flames struck a row of wooden frame buildings on Main St. in Brush, Colorado, near the railroad crossing. Mrs. Smalley's restaurant and Schuller & McKee plumbers and tinners were destroyed by flames. The Linden hotel was a total loss owing fire and water damage. Firefighters, under the direction of Chief Stephens, were credited with preventing a wider conflagration. The water supply was considered adequate. The blaze was the first first fire of consequence for Brush since the Southern Hotel. (Wray Rattler, Colorado Historic Newspapers Collection)
On April 11,1913, fire destroyed the Swift Block in Pueblo. Firefighters used life nets to catch residents jumping from the "furiously" burning building, the Telluride Daily Journal reported. Several people were injured, including Edith Morris (both legs broken falling from fire escape), Eva Morris, Mrs. L.W.Chase and daughter Inez, John Lewis and his wife, W.L. Logan, and Anna Griest (nearly suffocated). The fire, reported at 4 a.m., was thought to be of "incendiary origin." Considered Pueblo's worst fire since National Biscuit Co. building 12 years earlier [Colorado Historic Newspapers Collection]
On Aug. 1, 1914, fire struck the Marrimac and Monitor building at Elitch's Gardens in Denver. Firefighters stopped flames from spreading to the Old Mill dance pavilion and two smaller concessions. (Middle Park Times, Colorado Historic Newspapers Collection)
On Jan. 26, 1916, a basement fire sent smoke billowing through St. Joseph's Hospital in Denver. Patients left the building via a snow-covered fire escape. Several sisters and firemen were overcome by smoke. [Telluride Daily Journal, Colorado Historic Newspapers Collection]
In May 1916, the Lyric Opera House burned in Cripple Creek, Colorado; discarded cigarette blamed. [operaoldcolo.info]
On Dec. 17, 1916, a fire at the downtown Inter-Ocean Hotel in Cheyenne, Wyoming, killed a family of six and destroyed the building. [Cheyenne Fire Dept.] The father was electrocuted after falling on a power line; the mother and her four sons suffocated. "When Chief E. P. Taylor arrived at the fire he found the flames shooting from the third story windows, the entire third story hall aflame," according to Fire And Water Engineering [Feb. 7, 1917]
On March 14, 1917, fire destroyed the Chicago & Northwestern Railway warehouse in Casper, Wyoming. The building burned to the ground in 15 minutes. [History of Natrona County, Wyoming, 1888-1922, Alfred James Mokler]
On Oct. 17, 1917, fire destroyed the Union Pacific Hotel in Laramie, Wyoming. The walls collapsed. [Loveland Daily Herald, Colorado Historic Newspapers Collection]
1918: Olathe Opera House burns in Olathe, Colorado.
On Jan. 14, 1918, in Casper, Wyoming: "Fire broke out in the plant of the Natrona Electric company and the building and machinery was almost wholly destroyed. Many of the business houses in Casper were heated by this plant and they were without heat or light except that which was furnished by the Wyoming Electric company, who connected the wires and heating plant with their system that same day, but the load was so heavy for this system that the stores and all business houses were ordered not to open before 8 o'clock in the morning and close at 5 o'clock in the evening, and use as little light as possible. One light in each residence in town was allowed to be used. Only the hospitals and newspaper offices were allowed to use the current without restriction. The lighting restrictions were lifted in the business district on Feb. 23, but it was a month later before the residence districts were allowed to use more than one light in each house." [History of Natrona County, Wyoming, 1888-1922, Alfred James Mokler]
On June 18, 1919, the Union Tank Line shops just west of Casper, Wyoming were destroyed by fire. [History of Natrona County, Wyoming, 1888-1922, Alfred James Mokler]
In October 1919, Engine 4 and Engine 6 collided at 17th and Blake streets, Denver, while responding to an alarm. One of the engines dragged a pedestrian down a sidewalk and into a storefront. Several firemen were injured.

1900-1909

Aftermath of Denver Gas and Electric Co. explosion - 1909

On Jan. 26, 1900, a newspaper reported: "The third of a series of dynamite explosions within the city limits of Leadville, Col., occurred early yesterday morning, wrecking the handsome residence of A. V. Hunter, the millionaire mine-owner, and the home of J. C. Ritchey; adjoining. The first dynamite explosion occurred Sunday night at the Carbonate theater, wrecking the rear of the building. The second occurred in the rear of the court-house, breaking windows. No one has been injured in the explosions. The police are at a loss to ascribe a motive for these outrages. Several suspicious characters have been arrested." [Springfield Republican. Springfield, Massachusetts]
On Jan. 23, 1900, fire leveled buildings in the center of Ward, Colorado. The next day's Ward Miner newspaper reported: “When the sun rose Thursday morning the burned district looked like a miniature sea dotted with miniature icebergs, the water poured upon the debris having frozen and formed into beautiful encrustations… Not a store, hotel, saloon, restaurant nor a business house of any sort escaped the flames… If the life of the town depended wholly upon the profits that are taken over counter and bar, its destruction would be complete and the little basin in which its business houses once stood might be abandoned for the home of the chipmunk and coyote…”

On Jan. 24, 1900, fire destroyed the Town of Lafayette, Colorado.
On Feb. 8, 1901, fire gutted the Guggenheim Block in Pueblo. The two-story building at Main and Fourth streets was occupied by the Crews-Beggs Dry Good Company. [New York Times, Feb. 9, 1901]
On Feb. 15, 1906, fire damage at laundry building at city and county hospital in Denver. [Aspen Daily Times.]
On May 22, 1901, fire destroyed the Eaton-Ritchell Company, a tinware factory and warehouse occupying half a block at 15th and Wynkoop streets in Denver. [New York Times]

On Nov. 30, 1901, fire destroyed Denver City Hall. The flames consumed important records and documents. Part of the roof collapsed, injuring Charles Stoll, an employee of the city engineering office. [Daily Republic of Iowa] Four firefighters trapped above the flames were recsued after after tossing a boot toward spectators to attract attention. Earlier in the day, firefighters extinguished two small "incendiary" fires at City Hall. [Denver Firefighters Museum]
On March 15, 1902, fire heavily damaged the St. Vincent's Orphan asylum in Denver. All children were evacuated and there were no injuries. [Salt Lake Tribune]
On June 1, 1902, fire destroyed the Schlitz Brewing Co. beer and bottling plant in Pueblo. Firemen contended with high winds. [Herald Democrat, Colorado Historic Newspapers Collection]
On May 9, 1903, a building collapsed at 1510-14 Larimer St., Denver. Firemen and policemen dug through the rubble all night. Mrs. Thomas McKernan died at Emergency Hospital of injuries sustained in the collapse. George Hayes was missing and thought to be dead. Injured were Thomas McKernan, E.E. Doan, George Heberlin, S.M. Sorsenson. The building had been undergoing repairs. The front was temporarily supported by large timbers. Michaelson Brothers furnishing goods occupied the ground floor with apartments above. [Colorado Transcript, Colorado Historic Newspapers Collection]
On July 29, 1903, a fire and explosion linked to a labor dispute wrecked the transformer house at the Sun and Moon mine in Idaho Springs, Colorado. [The Day, New London, Connecticut, July 30, 1903]
On Sept. 20, 1904, nitric acid fumes killed four firemen extinguishing a small fire in the engraving department of The Denver Post newspaper. Lieutenant Charles Dolloff was the first to succumb to his injuries. [Durango Democrat.] The others were John Mclade, Frank Lunt and Charles Eymann. About a dozen other firemen were injured by the fumes. Nitric acid, HNO3, is a colorless, fuming chemical that is highly corrosive. [Wikipedia]
On Aug. 6, 1905, fire destroyed the Mountain Ice Company refrigerating plant in Pueblo. Six firemen were injured. [Castle Rock Journal, Colorado Historic Newspapers Collection]
On Feb. 13, 1906, fire struck the Colorado & Southern railroad shows at Seventh and Water streets in Denver. [DFD]
On Feb. 14, 1906, fire broke out at the City and County Hospital laundry building in Denver. Flames had gained considerable headway when discovered and burned through the ceiling. [Aspen Daily Times, Colorado Historic Newspapers Collection]
On March 15, 1906, fire struck the Flint-Lomax Electric Manufacturing Company, 14th and Wynkoop streets, Denver. The one-story machinery building measured 100x125 ft. A year or two year earlier, the company lost its plant at 19th and Curtis streets to fire. [Salida Mail, Colorado Historic Newspaper Collection]
On April 29, 1906, a power surge from a Denver Gas and Electric Light plant started a series of fires that damaged three churches and 28 residences in Denver. [Denver Firefighters Museum]
On May 5, 1906, fire destroyed the four-story warehouse of the Denver Transit and Warehouse Company on Wynkoop Street in Denver and "an immense quantity of valuable merchandise." [Weekly Courier, Colorado Historic Newspapers Collection]
On Feb 9, 1907, a late night fire broke out at the Club Building on Arapahoe Street, Denver. Flames were confined to the Denver skirt company on the sixth floor of the eight-story building. "Theatre crowds flocked to the scene which was spectacular to the extreme, seven engines being on duty and the firemen doing valiant work from lofty ladders." the Aspen Daily Times reported. [Colorado Historic Newspapers Collection]
On April 9, 1907, the Mancos Opera House burned at Mancos, Colorado. [operaoldcolo.info]
On April 10, 1907, while chopping a hole in a roof with an ax, a fireman named Bosman accidentally amputated the hand of a fireman named Deutsch at the servants quarters of the Grand Hotel in Durango, Colorado. [Telluride Daily Journal, Colorado Historic Newspapers Collection]
On Aug. 7, 1907, a spectacular fire destroyed the Golden Cycle Mining Company reduction plant in the foothills south of Colorado Springs. [Spokesman-Review newspaper of Spokane Washington] The mill was described as "the largest cyanide plant in the West." Firemen were handicapped by a lack of water and equipment. Their efforts were described as "heroic." The fire also consumed 37 freight cars. Flames were visible "from all parts" of Colorado Springs.
On Aug. 10.1907, fire and explosion in Boulder killed volunteer firemen Roy La Favre and Issac O. Wilson. [New York Times, Aug. 11, 1907]
On Aug. 11, 1907, fire destroyed the C.G. Illings grain elevator, lumber and coal sheds in Julesburg, Colorado. The fire was caused by a spark from a passing locomotive. [Park County Bulletin, Colorado Historic Newspapers Collection]
On Dec. 25, 1907, fire destroyed the Rio Grande depot at Alamosa, Colorado. [Salida Mail, Colorado Historic Newspapers Collection]
1908: Fire at theater at Manhattan Beach amusement park in Denver. [operaoldcolo.info]
On Sept. 8, 1908, fire destroyed the Belmont Hotel at 1723 Stout Street in Denver, killing five people. many jumped for their lives. Patrick Treadwell, a visiting fireman from Cripple Creek, Colorado, was credited with helping several people escape. Treadwell "saved at least ten lives by inducing entrapped guests to jump from the upper story windows across a five-foot alley to the roof of an adjoining building and catching them in his arms," according to a dispatch. [New York Times] The hotel was three stories high. At least two of the fatalities, jumped from the hotel.
On Oct. 21, 1908, fire broke out on the upper level of the Hungarian mills at Seventh and Wazee streets, Denver. Flames were beyond the reach of hose lines and roared out a control an hour after the first alarm was sounded. All of the city's fire apparatus was in use at the height of the blaze. [Herald Democrat, Colorado Historic Newspapers Collection]
On March 9, 1909, fire destroyed five buildings in the business section of Granada, Colorado, which at the time had no fire apparatus. "For a time the entire city was threatened," a newspaper dispatch said. [Nevada State Journal of Reno]
On May 24, 1909, fire damaged the Blanchard Hotel in Denver. The four-story hotel was located at 15th and Welton streets. [Herald Democrat, Colorado Historic Newspapers Collection]
On June 16, 1909, Denver was plunged into darkness when a boiler exploded at the power plant of the Denver Gas and Electric Co. at Sixth and Curtis streets. "So terrific was the explosion that the heavy boiler was thrown high into the air. It crashed through the roof of the plant and completely wrecked the generator and roof and walls," a dispatch said. "The electric lights were cut off for more than two hours and the city was in darkness." [Mansfield Daily Shield of Ohio 6/16/09] Four people were killed immediately. Several others were injured. Ill-fated Boiler No. 17, located on the Curtis street side of the plant, was estimated to have been airborne for 20 seconds, rocketing to an altitude of 1,659 feet. It came to rest 175 feet from its original location. The boiler was being brought back on line after repairs to brickwork ordered by a city inspector. The machine provided 400-horse power, was of water-tube construction and designated a "safety boiler." [The Locomotive, trade publication of Hartford Steam Boiler Inspection and Insurance Co., 7/1909]
On July 28, 1909, the La Junta Opera House burned in La Junta, Colorado. [operaoldcolo.info]

1890-1899

Antlers Hotel, Colorado Springs - 1898

On Aug. 4, 1890, an explosion and fire ruined the Denver Fire Brick and Chemical Supply House."The entire front of the building was blown out, and the men passing in front of the store at the time were hurled across the street and badly bruised. The building took fire instantly, and when partially extinguished a body, burned to a crisp and identified as that of the President of the company, Joseph Bosworth, was taken out of the ruins." [Louisville (Kentucky) Courier-Journal]
On Dec. 27, 1890, arson fires broke out at Cheyenne, Wyoming and destroyed the state's only grain elevator as well as three barns. [New York Times]
April 22, 1891: Fire at Davis and Criswell Brass Foundry in Denver. [DFD]
On Nov. 9, 1891, an early morning fire killed four men and 34 horses at the Mansions livery stables at 1816 Lawrence St., Denver. [Warsaw Daily Times of Warsaw, Indiana] The men, employees of the Cable Restaurant, were asleep in rented rooms over the stable.
Dec. 28, 1891: Fire at Appel & Co. in Denver. [DFD]
On Jan. 11, 1892, an accidental fire destroyed the McClellan Opera House and spread to other buildings in Georgetown, Colorado. The opera house "burned like tinder, and the flames soon spread to Mrs. Johnson's millinery store, which was totally destroyed, and from there to the Hotel de Paris, which was also burned," The New York Times reported. "The fire was started by Mr. McClellan, who was thawing out frozen water pipes in the opera house." [New York Times Jan. 12, 1892]
June 10, 1892: Fire at Metropolitan Theater in Denver. [operaoldcolo.info]
June 11, 1892: Fire at Peoples Theatre in Denver. [DFD]
On Jan. 5, 1893, a fire that started at the E. A. Halleck Paint, Oil, and Glass Company in Denver spread to other businesses, Including Eaton, Ritchell & Co., Denver Stamping Company, Western Laundry Company and the National Cracker Company. [New York Times]
On Jan. 20, 1893, fire struck the Grand Central Hotel at 17th and Wazee streets, Denver. Firemen used ladders to rescue guests. The fire started in an oil stove. [Leadville Chronicle, Colorado Historic Newspapers Collection]
March 24, 1893: Fire destroyed the Summit Fuel and Feed Co. warehouse in Denver. Firefighters Frank Mahoney and Fred Pierpont were killed when the east wall collapsed into an alley between the warehouse and a number of freight cars. Firefighters Mel Baker and A. Riley were injured. The men were assigned to the central fire station engine company. [Aspen Evening Chronicle, Colorado Historic Newspapers Collection]
On Aug. 14, 1893, a general alarm fire destroyed the Crescent flour mill and elevator at Stanton Avenue and Montgomery Street in Denver. [Morning Herald of Baltimore, Maryland] Two firemen were injured. Lieutenant McLean [first name not printed by newspaper] was seriously injured by an explosion in the "dust room." The other, F. Sargeant, driver for Chief Pearsy, suffered a broken arm after being forced from the roof by a hose stream. Every engine in the city was sent to the fire. However, the water supply was inadequate.
On March 10, 1894, Warren H. Russell, photograph engraver, died in a fire at Dimon & Adams Manufacturing Company in Denver. The cause of death was listed as suffocation. [New York Times, March 11, 1894]
On March 18, 1894, Denver's Union Deport burned. "It seemed to the spectator of the lurid scene as though it was but the burning of a toy paper house." [The Flume, Fairplay, Colorado] "There were many narrow escapes from death by the firemen, and each new experience of this nature was received with a hush of awe by the spectators and a shout of rejoicing when a huge timber in flames missed the person of some firemen."
On March 22, 1894, fire destroyed the Champa Furniture Co. building in Denver and the flames spread to the St. James Hotel, which was located across an alley. [New York Times] The walls of the furniture company collapsed in less than an hour and saved the city "from an extended conflagration." The hotel sustained significant damage, including the loss of 12 rooms and damage to 25 others. Eerily, a year later, on March 23, 1895, the St. James Hotel was the scene of a fire that killed four Denver firemen.
On March, 23, 1895, four Denver firefighters died when a floor collapsed during a fire at the St. James Hotel. "All but one member of Hose Company No. 3 lost their lives. The hose company, excepting the Captain, is composed of colored men. The unfortunate men were groping about in the blinding smoke in the rotunda and the cement floor gave way, precipitating them into the basement, where they were mangled and suffocated." [New York Times]
On Aug. 19, 1895, a boiler explosion and fire destroyed the Gumry Hotel in downtown Denver. "Naught but the walls were left intact." [Aspen Weekly Times] The explosion killed 22 people including Peter Gumry, proprietor of the hotel. [New York Times] "Every engine in the city was called to the scene … The firemen worked with great heroism. The heat was intense, and the smoke blinding. Electric light wires dangling in the alley, and walls tottering to a fall, increased the perils of the situation." [Oswego Daily Times of New York, Aug. 19, 1895]
On Aug. 22, 1895, fire swept McPhee McGinnity's planing mill in Denver. [gendisasters.com]
Oct. 6, 1895: Fire at Cooper and Hagus Furniture Co. in Denver. [DFD]
Dec. 20, 1895: Fire at Riche-Jacobson Block in Denver. [DFD]
On April 29, 1896, fire left 1,000 people homeless in Cripple Creek, Colorado.
July 12, 1896: Fire at Denver Consolidated Electric Co. [DFD]
1896: Craig Opera House burned in Craig, Colorado. [operaoldcolo.info]
June 4, 1897: Fire at Quincy Building in Denver. [DFD]
June 10, 1897: Fire at Studebaker Carriage Co. in Denver. [DFD]
1898: Fire destroyed Grand Junction Milling and Elevator Company in Grand Junction. [Museums of Western Colorado]
On March 22, 1898, a fire that started at the Wood Side, a hotel, burned for three hours and for a time threatened the eastern end of Colorado Springs. [The New York Times.]
On Oct. 1, 1898, fire swept downtown Colorado Springs. "A strip four blocks long from north to south, and two blocks wide from east to west, was burned over, and the flames would not have been checked there but for assistance from Denver and Pueblo." [Kansas City Journal] "The Antlers Hotel, one of the largest in the West, the lumber yards and two blocks of business houses were destroyed. The fire started in a pile of rubbish underneath the platform of the Denver & Rio Grande freight depot. Within five minutes it had communicated to freight cars standing at the depot, and it spread so rapidly that it was impossible to move any of the cars. Half a car of powder consigned to G. S. Barnes & Son exploded."
On Feb. 12, 1899, the Deremer Opera House burned in Pueblo, Colorado. [operaoldcolo.info]
On March 7, 1899, fire destroyed the "Hungarian" elevators in Denver and "rendered valueless 300,000 bushels of wheat." [New York Times, March 8, 1899] The fire originated in the dust room of the elevator, owned by J.K. Mullen & Co. "The work of the firemen was retarded by the frozen condition of the water plugs," it was reported. Also known as Colorado Milling and Elevator Co. [DFD]
On Aug. 21, 1899, fire destroyed 14 blocks of Victor, Colorado, leaving the gold mining town's business district in ashes. Firefighters failed to contain the flames even after turning to dynamite to topple buildings, most of which were made of pine timber.
In 1899, a coal seam fire started near New Castle, Colorado - and has burned underground ever since [waymarking.com]In the 1890s or early 1900s, fire destroyed a potash plant in south Denver. [Denver Public Library digital collection]

1880-1889

Anti-Chinese rioting in Denver - 1880

On Oct. 31, 1880, two members of the Denver Fire Department were among those injured in anti-Chinese rioting. [New York Times, Nov. 1, 1880]
1882: Fire at Wood's Opera House in Leadville, Colorado. [operaoldcolo.info]
On May 19, 1882, flames destroyed the Windsor Hotel in Leadville, Colorado. The fire started at the Palace of Fashion clothing house on Chestnut Street and spread to the hotel. [Manufacturers and Farmers Journal, Providence, Rhode Island, May 22, 1882]
July 6, 1882: Fire at Academy of Music in Denver. [operaoldcolo.info]
Nov.7, 1882: Largest earthquake in Colorado history. Epicenter was described as "west of Fort Collins" and shook the ground in Denver. The magnitude has been estimated at 6.6 on the Richter Scale. [ City of Fort Collins]
Jan. 29, 1884: Academy Theatre fire, 16th and Markets streets, Denver. [DFD]
Feb. 26, 1884: Fire at National Hotel and Nashville Hotel, 19th and Wazee streets, Denver. [DFD]
March 25, 1884: Fire at Denver's street car stables, 16th and Curtis streets. [DFD]
On Aug. 30, 1884, a newspaper [the Boston Evening Transcript] reported a circus train carrying animals, performers, trainers and roustabouts took fire at Windsor station nine miles north of Greeley, Colorado. Nine men died in the blaze that started in a sleeping car arranged in three tiers of bunks on either side. The victims were buried at Greeley in a single coffin seven feet wide and 10 feet long. The Orton's Anglo-American circus train continued onto an afternoon engagement in Golden even though a coroners jury had been impaneled at Greeley to investigate the Aug. 29 fire. Two of the dead were identified by their legal names: Alexander McLeod of Wisconsin and Thomas Kelly of New York. The others were known only as "Silver Thorn," "Andy," "Frenchy," "Frank," "George" and "Smithie." The name of the ninth victim wasn't know. A number of other men suffered burns. The 17-car train, which departed Fort Collins over the Greeley, Salt Lake & Pacific Railroad, carried two barrels of gasoline that may have ignited. [A marker at a Greeley cemetery plot states 10 men are buried there.]
Jan. 4, 1885: Fire at Melbourn Carriage Works, 22nd and Markets streets, Denver. [DFD]
Oct. 8, 1885: Fire at Earnest and Wilbur stables, 16th and Wazee streets, Denver. [DFD]
On July 6, 1886, fire destroyed the Academy of Music, 16th and Market streets, Denver. [New York Times] "The ground floor was occupied as business houses, in which several men were sleeping at the time of the fire, all of whom were rescued by the firemen except Tim Enright, an old roustabout who worked in the saloon of John Kineavy. Enright retired at 12 o'clock last night in an intoxicated condition and was forgotten until too late, and he perished in the flames."
On Nov. 25, 1886, fire destroyed the Union Pacific Hotel in Cheyenne, Wyoming. [New York Times] An employee of the Union Pacific Railroad named "McElroy" was killed when a porch collapsed. Several Cheyenne firefighters were injured. The fire started in a defective flue on the third floor.
Jan. 15, 1887: Fire at Clifford Block at 16th and Lawrence streets, Denver [DFD]
March 27, 1887: Fire at Tabor Block,16th and Larimer streets, Denver. [DFD]
May 2, 1887: Fire at Collier & Cleveland Printers,1541 Markets St., Denver. [DFD]
On Aug. 21, 1888, fire struck C.E. Wall's bookstore, 408 Santa Fe Ave., Pueblo. [Aspen Evening Chronicle, Colorado Historic Newspapers Collection]
On March 13, 1889, fire swept the commercial "King Block" on Lawrence Street between 15th and 16th streets in Denver. [Aspen Weekly Times.] "The greater portion of the lower floor was gutted," causing $100,000 in damages to the Knight-McClute Music Company, which was insured for only half of that, the newspaper said. Other tenants included Callaway Brothers & Dingwell, queensware; the Schiff-Carlton Grocery Company and the Denver & Rio Grande Express Company.
On July 1, 1889, fire destroyed much of Durango, Colorado. [New York Times] The fire broke out at 3 p.m. and by 4 p.m. about half of the buildings were aflame or in ashes.

1860s & 1870s

Ruins of Denver - 1863

On March 18, 1860, fire struck Summers & Dorsett Stables, Twelfth and Market streets, Denver. [DFD]
On April 19, 1863, fire swept Denver's business district and destroyed 70 wooden buildings. Almost all of the structures were made of highly flammable pine. The fire started in a saloon. High winds aggravated the situation. The ruins were replaced by brick buildings. Three years later, the predecessor of the Denver Fire Department was organized as Volunteer Hook and Ladder Company No. 1, replacing a bucket brigade. A fire station was built at 1534 Lawrence St., according to the Denver Firefighters Museum.
On Nov. 22, 1869, fire broke out in the storeroom of a Denver dry goods and millinery (women's hats) business belonging to a "Mrs. Cady." [New York Times] The fire damaged adjacent buildings and businesses including Booth's jewelry and music store and Doolittle's dry good store.
On Jan. 3, 1872, fire struck Eastabrook Stables, 1547 Market St., Denver [DFD]
On May 22, 1874, fire broke out at Central City, Colorado. The Montana Theater, which was built of logs, was among the buildings lost. [operaoldcolo.info]
On Feb. 23, 1875, Allan Shalcross, a volunteer, became the first Denver fireman to die in the line of duty as a result of the Planters Hotel, Sixteenth and Blake streets. [DFD]
In 1876, the Bighorn forest fire in Wyoming burned 500,000 acres.
On March 23, 1877, two major fires in Denver at at Denver Theatre, 16th and Lawrence streets and a block of buildings on 22nd Street. [DFD]
On Dec. 26, 1877, the day after Christmas, two fires struck Central City. Colorado. The first broke out in an abandoned building on the road between Central City and Blackhawk between 1 a.m. and 2 a.m. The second, discovered as firemen returned from the initial blaze, destroyed the home of Thomas Terrill, killing four people. [New York Times, Dec. 27, 1877] "There is a strong suspicion on incendiarism, as the smell of coal-oil was noticeable about both buildings, and both fire seems to have started from the outside," it was reported. Additionally, a witness or witnesses reported seeing a man running from the first blaze. The dead were identified as Mrs. Terrill, Johnnie Terrill, Mr. John Terrill, and Robert Jeffreys. "The first persons arriving at the scene heard screams of the inmates, but the fire had such headway that nothing could be done to save them."

John Arthur photo via Youngstown Fire website

The Denver Fire Department ran an 1986 Emergency One quint as part of a two-piece "TAC" company with a 1986 Ford F-800/E-One "Midi" pumper.

Truck 11 featured a 1500-GPM pump, 200-gallon tank and 110-foot aerial ladder.

Denver's TAC company was staffed by four firefighters aboard the truck and two riding the pumper.