Firefighters battling a blaze Tuesday in a condominium near the Denver Tech Center discovered a man dead inside.
Denver firefighters received multiple calls from the Canyon Club Condominiums, 6495 S. Happy Canyon Road, at 7:06 a.m. When they arrived, flames had engulfed a condo and were threatening others, fire Lt. Phil Champagne said.
Firefighters entered the home and pulled the man out, but it was too late to save him, officials said.
“The fire conditions were unsurvivable,” Champagne said.
Thirty-six firefighters worked on the blaze, which was extinguished 20 minutes after it was reported, Champagne said.
The victim’s name was not released. Neighbors said they had been concerned for the elderly man, who was on oxygen, smoked regularly and lived alone.
“We were worried something would happen,” neighbor Patra Attig said, “and it did.”
Champagne said it may be difficult to determine the cause of the fire because of heavy damage to the condo. However, he said there has been a rash of cigarette-induced fires lately in Denver. He noted New York has mandated “fire-safer” cigarettes that are less likely to spark accidental fires.
Volunteer firefighter and state Rep. Tom Plant, D-Nederland, is sponsoring a bill that would require cigarettes to meet the same standard in Colorado. The House Judiciary Committee will review it Thursday.
“It vastly decreases our risk of house fires and wildland fires,” Plant said. “I think it’s really just a common-sense measure.”
Justin Dombrowski, wildland fire coordinator with the Boulder Fire Department, said cigarettes are the leading cause of fire deaths in the U.S., including an 11-year-old Boulder girl who died in 2003.
“It will end up saving lives in Colorado,” Dombrowski said of the bill.
Tuesday’s fire was the second fatal blaze in Denver in as many months.
On March 5, artist Louis Nyiri was killed in an explosion and fire at his home, 186 S. Corona St.
Investigators found that the ignition of flammable vapors from natural gas and gasoline caused the fire, Champagne said.
A flexible gas line that was not in working order was a contributing factor, he said.
Staff writer Sean Kelly can be reached at 303-820-1858 or skelly@denverpost.com.
