The Walmart on 8th St. in Colorado Springs was evacuated around 8:00 Sunday night for a fire.
The Colorado Springs Fire Department spokesman said there was a small fire in a meat cooler. The fire was extinguished by an automatic sprinkler.
Walmart was later reopened according to a tweet from the CSFD PIO’s Twitter at 9:22 p.m.
The accidental fire was a mechanical fire, according to CSFD Capt. Mike Smaldino.
The fire in the historic three-story building at 111 E. Fourth St. started around 10 p.m. between the building’s first and second floors, according to an email sent Tuesday morning by Loveland Fire Rescue Authority division chief and fire marshal Ned Sparks.
About 45 to 50 residents were either asleep or getting ready to go to bed, according to Sparks and the building’s owner, Astrid, who goes by one name. Fire Chief Mark Miller said no residents or firefighters were harmed.
Those residents have been displaced and won’t be able to return for one or two days, said Astrid, who was working through the channels to get electricity restored and have the building declared inhabitable again.
Sparks and Astrid said the fire sprinkler system that she had installed four months ago in the 40-apartment building saved many lives.
“I am convinced this fire would have had a huge loss of life and most likely the building would have been lost (quite probable the Elks Club and Cactus Grille too),” Sparks said in his email.
“Seeing firsthand how many of the people survived who would have perished in a catastrophic fire, I am reminded why we do what we do,” Sparks said.
In recent years, the Loveland Fire Rescue Authority has worked with the owners of the Lovelander and two other historic buildings downtown to have sprinkler systems installed.
Historic buildings are quick to burn, and the fires are difficult to fight once they start, Sparks said.
“Once it got going, we couldn’t have stopped it,” Sparks said. “The interstitial space in this area is massive and had the fire not been suppressed would have run through this space unchecked.”
But because of the sprinklers, the fire never really took off.
Two residents who saw the fire and helped evacuate their neighbors said a swamp cooler, which wasn’t running, caught fire.
“I was just about to go to bed when I smelled something funny,” said Jamie Bridgeman, the resident manager who lives on the second floor directly above the cooler with her husband. “Then I started seeing smoke.”
“One of my residents had gotten off work and pulled up behind the building. She started screaming ‘fire!’ I looked out my window, and my swamp cooler was engulfed in flames,” said Bridgeman, who said her hair was singed by the fire. “I just started screaming ‘fire’ and came down here and pulled the alarm.
“Then I went back up and stood in the middle and screamed, ‘Fire! Everybody get out,” she said.
Two residents got fire extinguishers from the hallway and stood outside the building, spraying onto the fire, she said.
Steve Dupont, a resident of the first floor, said most residents used the metal fire escapes on the back side of the building.
“Everybody was coming out like they were supposed to,” he said.
On Tuesday afternoon, he was standing outside the Lovelander, waiting to go inside to help retrieve the belongings of a friend whose nearby apartment was damaged by a sprinkler head that activated. Astrid said the ceiling fell in that apartment because of the water damage.
Astrid was busy on the phone Tuesday, talking with an electrical contractor about getting the power restored. He told her that she would need an engineer to verify that the structure still was sound, even though she said the fire was mostly confined to the exterior cooler unit.
“Let’s get this underway right now,” she said.
Astrid expressed concern for her residents, whom she described as normally just a few hundred dollars away from homelessness — the working poor, elderly people and students.
“We really could use a little help,” she said, breaking down in tears under her coronavirus face mask when asked what kind of help.
“They’re all law-abiding, very decent citizens of Loveland,” she said. “I wish they could come back this afternoon, but it sounds like 24 to 48 hours.”
Bridgeman, the manager, said Sparks gave residents vouchers for motel rooms Monday night, and eight people were able to take rooms. The rest, such as herself and her husband, either stayed with friends or paid for motel rooms themselves, although they couldn’t really afford it.
Bridgeman said she had been talking with the American Red Cross about getting more vouchers to house the displaced residents until they could move back in.
Astrid was busy on the phone Tuesday, talking with an electrical contractor about getting the power restored. He told her that she would need an engineer to verify that the structure still was sound, even though she said the fire was mostly confined to the exterior cooler unit.
“Let’s get this underway right now,” she said.
Astrid expressed concern for her residents, whom she described as normally just a few hundred dollars away from homelessness — the working poor, elderly people and students.
“We really could use a little help,” she said, breaking down in tears under her coronavirus face mask when asked what kind of help.
“They’re all law-abiding, very decent citizens of Loveland,” she said. “I wish they could come back this afternoon, but it sounds like 24 to 48 hours.”
Bridgeman, the manager, said Sparks gave residents vouchers for motel rooms Monday night, and eight people were able to take rooms. The rest, such as herself and her husband, either stayed with friends or paid for motel rooms themselves, although they couldn’t really afford it.
Bridgeman said she had been talking with the American Red Cross about getting more vouchers to house the displaced residents until they could move back in.
Authorities still haven’t determined the exact cause of the incident, which didn’t result in any injuries.
On the upside, the bank has returned to normal operations, after undergoing some intense mitigation efforts for several days.
According to Park State bank officials, the fire occurred under a soffit on the east side of the building shortly after 3 a.m. on Jan. 27. The fire damage was mitigated by the bank’s sprinkler system. In an official statement, bank president Tony Perry said, ‘The sprinkler system did such a great job that we are now assessing the damage, root cause, and have begun mitigation efforts.”
The fire, though, did cause extensive damage in parts of the facility.
After being closed on Jan. 27, only the drive-through was operating both Tuesday and Wednesday, as teams were assessing interior damage and air quality was low, according to bank officials. All first-floor flooring has to be removed and will be replaced. As of Thursday, operations resumed for team members with all employees working on the second floor.
Yellow tape was displayed in front of the bank entrance during much of last week to allow experts to assess the damage.
In a statement on the Woodland Park Chamber of Commerce’s Grapevine page, the bank offered thanks to emergency service officials, insurance and damage exerts and local customers.
“PSBT wishes to thank Chief (Tyler) Lambert and the NE Fire Protection team for responding quickly and preventing the fire from spreading throughout the building. Thanks are also due to both Joy Pickett of The Insurance Center, who quickly had a team out to assess the claim, and Michael Whittemore and his 1-800-Water Damage team which immediately began mitigating damage and preparing to return the building to full service as quickly as possible Thank you also to the city of Woodland Park and the many, many bank customers who offered help. It is a privilege to be a part of this wonderful community.”
The one casualty is the forthcoming Woodland Park Chamber of Commerce After Hours gathering, originally planned at the bank next month.
Due to building repairs, the Chamber After Hours event for Feb. 18 will still be hosted by PSBT, but the event will occur at the Ute Pass Cultural Center. This is the third time the site for the forthcoming February After Hours has been changed.
Sprinklers were able to put out the fire, however, some damage did occur during the fire.
At this time, there is no information on the amount of damage the fire caused.
No injuries were reported.
The Colorado Springs Fire Department responded to a call for a possible structure fire at the Vineyard Apartments on 7239 Bodega Pt. near Woodmen and Rangewood around 12:05a.m.
First arriving companies found a fire on the outside patio on the ground level apartment. This fire was quickly extinguished by fire crews and the interior fire damage was limited by activated fire sprinkler heads.
All residents in the three story building were able to be notified of the fire by the existing alarm system. The combination of fire sprinklers and general smoke alarms averted a possible loss of life and a high dollar loss to this structure. The damage was limited to the outside patios/balconies with only interior water damage to the first floor apartment due to the sprinkler discharge.
A total of 12 firefighters were able to extinguish this fire in a few minutes with no injuries. One family of two adults and one dog were displaced due to damage and the Red Cross was activated to assist in the family needs.
The cause and damage estimates will be determined by the on scene investigator.
City Market in Granby closed early Saturday evening due to a small fire.
No one was harmed when a maintenance closet at the store caught fire, according to Lt. Dan Mayer, spokesman for the Grand County Sheriff’s Office. However, there was a moderate amount of smoke throughout the store.
There were several customers inside City Market when the fire broke out, and they were all evacuated, Mayer said.
The fire didn’t spread thanks to the combination of the sprinkler system, employees and the fire department. According to Mayer, the fire was confined to the maintenance closet and did not cause significant damage to the store.
City Market closed early Saturday after the fire. The store plans to reopen Sunday, but customers should call ahead to check. Because the sprinkler system was activated, the company must reset the system before customers can enter the store.
The East Grand Fire District responded to reports of a fire on the roof around 11:40 p.m. Saturday and found smoke inside and outside the restaurant.
The smoke was coming from a small fire in the kitchen ductwork, and crews extinguished the blaze. The exhaust fan on the roof was damaged, but no cooking equipment was harmed by the flames.
However, the restaurant and the former location of Smokin’ Moe’s below it both suffered some water damage when the hood system discharged fire retardant and the sprinkler system came on.
East Grand Fire Chief Todd Holzwarth said the system worked as it was designed to and contained the fire. Crews had the sprinkler system and alarm back in service, as well as all flames out, by 1:10 a.m.
Firefighters suspect grease built up in the ductwork contributed to the fire, but they are not sure what ignited it. The restaurant closes at 10 p.m.
Owner Esteban Rocha said the restaurant would remain closed for repairs and wasn’t yet sure how long that would take. He said he is just glad no one was hurt.
Staff living on the third floor of the building were evacuated, but there were no injuries related to the fire.
Police say a man broke into the CENTRAL Longmont Presbyterian Church on Kimbark Street at 5:40 a.m. on Sunday. Fire investigators say suspect used accelerant to start the fire. The fire caused more than $5,000 in damage, but the alleged perpetrator was caught on camera.
As the sun filtered through the trees along Kimbark Street Sunday, the sound of mallets tapping lightly on a table could heard in a peaceful rhythm.
“The weather is beautiful today,” Carol Duarte with the Northern Colorado Caledonia Pipe Band said.
The Northern Colorado Caledonia Pipe Band was holding an outdoor lesson, after police say a man set fire to the church where they hold practice.
“Any time anybody is disrespectful or vandalizes someone else’s property it’s a sad thing,” Duarte said.
In the surveillance video a man can be seen peering into the glass door, near the Recovery Café area of the church. Then he readjusts his scarf to cover his face and that’s when police say he broke in.
“Like all our faith communities, they do incredible work in our community all the time. So it breaks our heart when our churches get targeted,” Jeff Satur, Longmont Deputy Chief, said.
Police said the suspect poured an accelerant on the floor, that some said smelled like gasoline, and took off. Officers credit the sprinkler system and fire crews for their quick response.
The church, which was built in 1905, suffered extensive damage. The band members said they will continue to improvise and have confidence the church community will be resilient.
“It’s a very vibrant church with a lot of programs that a lot of people benefit from,” Duarte said.
Police are hopeful someone will recognize the man in the video and help them make an arrest. If you have any information, call Longmont Police Dispatch at 303-651-8501.
A lieutenant with the Colorado Springs Police Department says the suspect succeeding in stealing from multiple units before officers caught her.
The fire was reported at 4:20 a.m. Saturday at The Lodges of Colorado Springs, a complex near UCCS where many students live.
“Crews found a small fire in an upholstered chair on the third-floor hallway,” Capt. JJ Halsey told 11 News. “Fire had activated the sprinkler head above the chair and kept the fire from spreading.”
The third floor sustained moderate smoke and water damage, Halsey said.
According to police, the woman was using the fire as a diversion tactic to get residents out of the building.
She was found walking around the building and arrested. Police identified the woman as Tiosha Chitman.
Sgt. Alterae Rogers, from the Colorado Springs Police Department, said Chitman is facing a number of burglary charges. This is an ongoing investigation.
Two small kitchen fires within hours serve as a warning to be careful when using a stove.
“Fortunately, all it was, was burning food,” said Colorado Springs Police Lt. John Koch of the first fire, which started in an apartment on Fountain Boulevard Friday night. “There’s no structure damage, no structure fire, nobody was injured.”
Police and firefighters got the call just after 10 that an apartment was on fire and were at the complex in the 3300 block within minutes.
“When we got here, fire officials had already gone into the apartment and determined that somebody had burned some food on the stove, and as of a result of that burned food we get a reported structure fire,” Koch said.
Due to the quick response, firefighters kept the fire contained to the stovetop.
Just over 12 hours later, a second stovetop fire was reported in an apartment complex, this time at the Casa de Cerro Apartments on Yuma Street. Firefighters say the fire triggered the unit’s sprinkler system, which doused the fire.
Two apartments were still displaced due to water damage.
Experts say either fire could have easily been worse; according to the National Fire Protection Association, between 2012-2016, kitchen fires accounted for 48 percent of all house fires nationwide.
“Pay attention when you’re using your stove. When you’re cooking dinner. All of us have left our stove on at some point, but it’s important that you pay attention,” Koch said.
“We don’t want anyone being injured in a structure fire. Especially in apartment buildings and in high-density places like that. We just ask people: pay attention, remember what you’re doing. Don’t get distracted by your phone or watching TV or Netflix or whatever, and we can avoid stuff like this.”
