At the height of the high winds that blew across Colorado in mid-December 2025, one of Fiore’s Overlot crews played an unexpected role in eliminating fire danger near one of our job sites.
On December 17th, Fiore Foreman Gage Dawkins was working alongside Operator Tyler Heywood at Filing 63 of the Central Park Redevelopment Project in Denver. After weeks of little to no precipitation, dust control was an exceptional challenge on this site near the I-70/I-270 interchange. That coupled with the day’s forecasted wind gusts of up to 60mph prompted our crews to ensure water trucks were always full and at hand. This was the same day Xcel preventatively shut off power to some of its Front Range service areas.
While performing finish grading with a D6 Dozer on the east end of the project site, Dawkins noticed what appeared to be more than a dust cloud arising from the west end and radioed to the crew operating scrapers on that side to take a closer look. They confirmed the cloud was, in fact, smoke from a fire that had just started outside the project limits. The adjacent field was filled with dry brush, weeds, and dead trees, making the situation especially concerning with high winds in the mix.
Dawkins promptly notified the project’s General Contractor, Mortenson, who contacted the local fire department for immediate assistance. The fire truck would have to traverse two miles of unpaved path to reach the site, however, so Dawkins received approval to remove some chain link fence along the site’s perimeter, making way for Fiore’s water truck to get a head start on containing the fire before the fire trucks arrived.
Using the D6, Dawkins pushed down the fence while Heywood drove the water truck over to the fire. What they found was an informal encampment, where the fire had broken out amidst tents and debris spread across the area. The water truck began by spraying a wide perimeter around the fire source, then entered the burn area to continue containing the flames from within.
By the time the fire engine and Battalion Chief arrived, Dawkins and Heywood had knocked down and extinguished most of the fire using their own machines and a full truckload of water. The fire department expressed their gratitude and even asked the crew to return later that day to spray the area again to ensure no hot spots remained. If it weren’t for the quick thinking of these two individuals, the small fire could easily have turned into a disaster for the surrounding community, which encompasses approximately 3,000 households and 600 businesses. Through their brave actions, these two gentlemen set an example of how Fiore commits to serving the communities in which we build.
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