When Denver was founded in 1858, the city’s wood-frame buildings and the windy, arid nature of the surrounding plains made fire a constant concern. Despite the threat that fire posed to the budding city, early efforts to form an official fire department…

In the early morning hours of April 19, 1863, a fire raged through Denver, reducing much of the town’s business district to ash. As in most frontier towns of the American West, fire had been a concern for Denver citizens since the town’s founding in 1858…