A stubborn and dangerous warehouse fire in Pueblo, which could be seen for miles, kept firefighters battling through the dark of night and into sunrise this morning.
No firefighters have been injured in the fire, which has not been completely put out.
But firefighters fear a vagrant, or vagrants, may have been trapped and killed by the intense blaze.
“We are concerned with what we might find when we get to go in,” said Woody Percival, a Pueblo Fire Department spokesman.
A passerby rang the bell of a firehouse in downtown Pueblo at about midnight and alerted firefighters of the fire just two blocks away, Percival said.
Firefighters arrived within two minutes to find a abandoned 20,000-square-foot warehouse, at 602 W. 6th St., engulfed, Percival said.
“It looked like a sunset downtown with the amount of smoke and light coming form it,” Percival said.
The turn-of-the-century building, known as the “Rocky Mountain Ice and Cold” building or “Pueblo Ice Storage” has been vacant since at least 2001, Percival said.
The dilapidated building has a brick and concrete exterior, and firefighters were concerned with the outside wall collapsing in the fire, Percival said.
Firefighters took a defensive stand to make sure that the fire didn’t spread to another block downtown, Percival said.
The roof and interior floors in the building collapsed and it is a total loss, Percival said.
The origin of the fire is under investigation.
Seven engines and 30 firefighters fought the fire throughout the early morning hours. They’ve been replaced by a fresh crew and commander, Percival said.
The building’s age and various remodels over the years created various hidden spots in the building where the fire continues to smolder, Percival said.
Firefighters plan to enter the building as soon as it is safe.
Percival said: “It is going to take us days to piece together what we have here.”
Kieran Nicholson: 303-954-1822 or knicholson@denverpost.com.
