Firefighters handled more than 40 fires in the metro area south of Denver Thursday night, according to South Metro Fire Rescue, and the department believes most were started by fireworks.
Between 6 p.m. and midnight on the Fourth of July, South Metro fire crews responded to 45 fires and transported two people — one adult and one child — to the hospital, the fire department said in a statement on social media.
The unidentified adult and child were injured in separate fireworks accidents, South Metro officials said.
South Metro Fire Rescue serves nearly 300 square miles and 540,000 residents in Arapahoe, Douglas and Jefferson counties.
“Most of the fires involved grass or mulch, and most were caused by fireworks,” fire officials said.
Fireworks continued to cause problems for the fire department early Friday morning with another fire in Englewood’s Cherry Hills Village.
South Metro fire crews responded around 6 a.m. Friday to a grass fire at 4400 East Quincy Avenue that burned 22,500 square feet of land before firefighters contained the flames.
“Witnesses heard a loud boom before seeing smoke and a firework was found on the trail splitting the burn area,” the fire department said.
Denver also saw multiple house fires Thursday night amid Fourth of July celebrations, but the Denver Fire Department has yet to confirm whether the flames were started by fireworks.
Denver fire crews were on the scene of two house fires near East 52nd Avenue and Altura Street around 11:40 p.m. Thursday, according to the fire department. Fire officials said the flames started in one house and spread to another.
Both fires were extinguished around 12:15 a.m., and Denver crews remained on scene to make sure 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, the Denver Fire Department said.
— Denver Fire Department (@Denver_Fire) July 5, 2024
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