100-150 Teenagers At Arapahoe County House Party When Floor Collapses
UPDATE: Case Closed: No Charges Filed In Floor Collapse At Arapahoe County House Party
ARAPAHOE COUNTY, Colo. (CBS4)- Late Saturday evening South Metro Fire Rescue was dispatched to a medical call on East Princeton Place in Arapahoe County. When they arrived, they learned a floor collapsed into the basement of a home during a party.
"We saw a lot of people out in the street. Some of them were pretty panicked, so the crew changed into rescue mode," said Eric Hurst, Public Information Officer for South Metro Fire Rescue.
A group of friends who didn't want to be identified said they are seniors at Eaglecrest High School nearby and heard about the party on social media. They were on their way to attend the gathering when it was social media that let them know they would be having an early night.
"We just picked up our friend and the next Snap was the basement collapsing," said one young man.
His friend added, "He was like dude I literally got chills just look at this."
South Metro says that even though it appeared hundreds of people could have been in the home at the time of the collapse, three juveniles were injured. One of them severely. Most escaped on their own by climbing a staircase that stayed standing.
"It was possible for people to evacuate that way, it was also possible for people to evacuate out of egress windows in the basement," said Hurst.
A natural gas line ruptured in the collapse so the home was evacuated. The fire department says the people who live in the home won't be allowed back in at least for the night. After that, it's up to the building department to determine if the home is stable enough to be lived in.
Firefighters say this serves as a reminder that overcrowding can be dangerous.
"It's something to be cognizant of. If it's a situation where there's overcrowding in any situation it's best to avoid that," said Hurst.
The friends who narrowly avoided the collapse say the accident made them re-evaluate how they choose to spend their free time.
"Stay home and do your homework. Don't go to parties," said one young man only somewhat facetiously.
