About 300 people were chased from their homes by asbestos contamination Sunday at a southeast Denver apartment complex, the same one that another 75 residents evacuated Saturday.
Anger and confusion reigned Sunday at the Highline Terrace on Parker apartments at 1090 S. Parker Road after each of the remaining 12 of 15 buildings was posted with a red “order to vacate” notice after asbestos was found in every building.
“It’s a three-square-block disaster,” resident “Uncle Bob” Kirkland said as he sat on the stoop of his building smoking a cigarette and watching all the scurrying around him.
Residents aided by family and friends were packing their belongings and loading them into rental vans, pickup trucks and cars. Some were taking only their clothes, medications and valuables as they were instructed in a printed notice from health authorities. Others were taking everything, apparently not planning on returning – although after cleanup and retesting, some residents could be allowed back in in a few weeks.
A contractor had been renovating the apartments and may have disturbed asbestos materials.
“It was their due diligence to know about (the asbestos) beforehand,” said Steve Gonzales with Denver’s Department of Environmental Health, referring to the contractor that had been renovating the building for three months.
Asbestos was commonly used in items such as construction materials and brake pads into the 1980s, said Christopher Dann, spokesman for the state Department of Public Health and Environment. It is not dangerous unless it is disturbed, and contractors are responsible for having projects evaluated by a state-certified consultant.
Dann said it was too early to know if the contractor, Commercial Services Building Inc., had attempted to comply, but he said the health department arrived after a tip.
Commercial Services referred comment to Spectrum Services, an environmental consulting firm that tests for asbestos fibers.
Spectrum president Harry Moseley said Sunday his company found asbestos in the hallways, prompting Spectrum to notify the state health department, which ordered the buildings evacuated.
It was unclear who owns the buildings, but they are managed by Omni Apartment Communities.
Kathy Kolbu, Omni’s district manager, said Sunday: “We’re helping people move out, and we’re refunding rent for the time people couldn’t be in their apartments.”
She declined to comment about the contamination.
The displaced tenants were offered shelter Sunday night by the Red Cross at George Washington High School, about a mile away, but many decided to stay with friends or family.
The Denver Department of Human Services will distribute vouchers for hotels and food today.
Nancy Weiss angrily declared that she not only is moving out but is moving back home to Chicago.
“I’m very upset right now,” Weiss said.
Weiss said she would be staying with a friend in Littleton for the time being, taking her cats and her plants with her. She had help from friends trying to put together just exactly what she was taking with her.
Weiss alternated between threatening a lawsuit and praising the management company as the best the complex has had in her 14 years there.
“This new management is the only one who has tried to do something,” she said.
But renovation efforts played a part in the discovery of asbestos.
“They came in like gangbusters, but they opened up a can of worms,” said Kirkland, agreeing that the company had been trying to improve the complex.
Kelley Henson, sitting on the stoop next to Kirkland while waiting for her boyfriend, said they were going to Washington High for the night. She also agreed Omni had been trying to “make things better.”
Ailah Hollis was too confused and exasperated to do much.
“It’s very, very inconvenient,” Hollis said. “It’s leaving me stranded. I think I’ll just get a room for the night and try to figure it out tomorrow.”
Staff writer Jim Kirksey can be reached at 303-820-1448 or jkirksey@denverpost.com.
Staff writer Joel Grostephan can be reached at 303-820-1201 or jgrostephan@denverpost.com.
