Denver Defensive Fire

On January 2nd, 2026 at 18:42 Denver Fire Department responded to a commercial structure fire at the Harker Heights, Leetsdale Drive and S. Forest St. with Denver 911 Communications Center receiving reports of an apartment building under construction on fire. Truck 19 arrived to a wind-driven fire well-advanced in the apartment building, and immediately began setting up for defensive operations. A 2nd alarm was quickly called for, followed by a 3rd with evacuations in the neighborhood around the building. Multiple master stream operations were deployed and crews worked extension to exposers around the fire. The fire eventually went to a 5th alarm with mutual-aid from South Metro Fire Rescue and Aurora Fire Rescue, which was mostly for ember watch and structure protections, which was a separate incident to the main fire. The fire was reported at 70% at 21:30 and crews remained on scene overnight and into the next day on January 3rd, 2026 on hot spots. The apartment building is 283 units and was to open in May of 2026. The fire was reported to start on the west side near the dumpster area and quickly spread. With no sprinklers, drywall or firebreaks which helped the fire spread quickly. It was reported that embers and ash where more than 1/4 mile south-east of fire location. One firefighter was injured on scene with unknown injuries and was transported to a local hospital. Power was also shut down for the area. Additional information provided by Denver Fire Department

Units on Scene

Denver: Chief 4, Chief 3, Chief 4, Chief 2, Chief 6, Ops 2, Ops 4, Truck 19, Engine 19, Engine 5, Engine 11, Rescue 1, Engine 8, Truck 8, Engine 15, Tower 15, Truck 26, Engine 24, Air/Light, Engine 21, Engine 10, Truck 16, Engine 22, Tower 1, Tower 22, Engine 18, Engine 6, Tower 9, Engine 21 & Engine 26

Denver Health Paramedics: EMS 44, EMS 29, EMS 44 & Ambulance 53, Ambulance 62, Ambulance 4, Ambulance 8 & Ambulance 14

Ember Watch / Structure Protection Response:

Denver: Engine 14, Engine 3, Engine 29, Wildland 601 & Truck 4

Aurora: Engine 11 & Brush 5

South Metro: District 1 Chief, Battalion 3, Battalion 5, Safety 1, Engine 21, Brush 21, Engine 22, Brush 22, Engine 38 & Tower 32

Added:

Denver: Chief 1, Ops 1, AST-02, AST-03 & Arson

Special Call:

 Arapahoe Rescue Patrol: Rehab 12

Denver Police Department, Glendale Police Department, Arapahoe County Sheriff’s Office, Aurora Police Department, American Red Cross, City of Denver Building Department, Denver Water & Xcel Energy