DURANGO – A kitchen fire in a third- floor unit destroyed 10 units at the Whispering Pines condominiums 12 miles north of Durango early Friday.
An expectant father returning home from the hospital in the middle of the night to grab some clothes saw the flames and began yelling “fire” about 3:40 a.m. He awoke several residents of a neighboring building who began pounding on doors to warn others.
Everyone escaped without injury, except one firefighter dislocated a finger.
The complex, built in the 1970s, had low water pressure and no sprinkler system, which hampered firefighters’ efforts, sheriff’s spokesman Dan Bender said. The firefighters were mopping up the last hot spots by 9:30 a.m. Friday. The cause of the fire is under investigation, but Bender said a man apparently fell asleep with food cooking. He awoke to a smoke-filled room and called authorities.
