Colorado neighbors question safety at Aurora apartment complex: "Nobody heard fire alarms"
Crews battled an apartment fire in Aurora as temperatures exceeded 100 degrees late last week. A total of 23 apartment units at The Preserve at City Center were damaged, displacing around 50 residents. Neighbors tell CBS Colorado the fire left them concerned about the building's safety.
Aurora Fire Rescue responded to a two-alarm fire at the three-story apartment building near the intersection of South Elkhart Way and South Evanston Way just before 3 p.m. Friday.
Firefighters saw smoke in the area. AFR's Station 8 Ladder crew responded before a call came in.
"An on-duty fire apparatus was in the neighborhood doing other things, and happened to see the smoke this way," explained Shannon Hardi with AFR. "They determined it was a fire and then they called in more resources."
One firefighter was treated for heat exhaustion, but that heat caused another problem. Hardi says when the first apparatus hooked up to the hydrant, the water main ruptured and took that hydrant out of service. They had to stretch a line to a different hydrant and do relay pumping.
AFR says 15 crews defensively attacked the fire.
No injuries were reported. All residents and pets were safely evacuated.
"I don't think I've ran faster in my life to get home," said Noble Rainville, whose pregnant wife was at home during the fire. "She could smell smoke inside the apartment. As soon as she opened the door to go into the hallway outside, it was just roaring with smoke."
Rainville and several other residents told CBS Colorado fire alarms were not heard during the blaze. They're worried about that and other safety issues moving forward.
Another neighbor, Javier, recorded the flames from his adjacent building.
"I was tripped out! People were running to tell other people," he told CBS's Tori Mason. She asked if he heard alarms. Javier told her, "No, girl!"
Devon Coleman lives in the building beside the one that caught fire. He checked to see if his unit had sprinklers on Monday. He was surprised to see it didn't.
"We don't have any of that. Nobody heard fire alarms going off or anything," said Coleman. "Yes, I'm concerned because I've got two kids inside."
Many older buildings don't have suppression systems.
According to the National Fire Sprinkler Association, residential sprinklers control fire 96% of the time and damage is reduced by 70%. It's a feature Rainville says he'll have in his family's next home.
"I just thank God she wasn't taking a nap, because who knows what could've happened," said Rainville.
The American Red Cross is on scene to provide assistance. AFR says the cause of the fire is still under investigation.
CBS Colorado reached out to the apartment complex about their fire safety measures. As of late Monday night CBS Colorado hadn't received any response.
