Residents say deadly Arapahoe County apartment fire could have been prevented
Just before 4 a.m. on Saturday, building 2380 at the Ivy Crossing apartment complex in Arapahoe County caught fire.
Melvin Lawrence lived on the third floor with his family. They tried to get away but their path was blocked.
"We couldn't get out the front door so we ended up having to run to our balcony. I jumped off the balcony and once I jumped off, two other civilians helped me (and) my two sons jump off," Lawrence said.
Soon South Metro Fire Rescue firefighters and Arapahoe County sheriff's deputies arrived to rescue people and fight the fire.
"We've assisted with multiple ladder rescues from the balconies from people trapped," said South Metro Fire Rescue spokeswoman Lauren Ono.
After they finished evacuating people, firefighters had a huge fight ahead of them. Luckily, they had a lot of help.
"This was a 2nd alarm fire, so I would say we had about 80 personnel," said Ono.
After a tough morning, they got the fire out, but not before 23 families lost their homes, many people got minor injuries, two people were seriously injured, two firefighters sustained minor injuries and one person died.
Residents think this tragedy could have been avoided because they say there was no fire safety or suppression equipment in the whole building.
"No floor has fire extinguishers, our unit doesn't have the CO detectors, and no smoke detectors whatsoever," said Lawrence.
At least three other residents who wanted to remain anonymous say the same thing. One of them even shared a video with CBS News Colorado's reporter Michael Abeyta that they said was taken on Jan. 31.
They say it was taken inside the same building that burned Saturday morning and that it shows missing fire extinguishers and missing or non-functional smoke detectors in the hallways of the building.
All the residents Abeyta spoke with say they complained about issues in their building including about the missing extinguishers and smoke detectors but their complaints fell on deaf ears.
"We send complaint after complaint. We just didn't know what higher level to take it to besides the leasing complex," said Lawrence.
South Metro Fire Rescue says they don't know what caused the fire yet and they are aware of the accusations the neighbors are making about the building. They say it's part of their investigation.
The property is owned by BMC Investments, a company with a Denver address listed on its website. They own 18 residential properties in Colorado and three in Maryland.
Abeyta emailed and called BMC Investments to give them the opportunity to refute the claims made by residents but hasn't heard back. He also asked to speak with someone in the leasing office for Ivy Crossing after speaking with residents. He was asked to leave, which he did.
Lawrence says he hurt his shoulder when he and his two kids jumped from his third-story balcony. To add insult to injury, he now needs to find a new home to start their lives over, but he says he is grateful that it wasn't worse.
"Words couldn't explain the way I feel right now," he said. "I'm just very angry but more thankful that me and my family made it out alive."
