BOULDER, Colo.—As many as 50 residents, including some University of Colorado students, were forced from their homes by a fire Friday at a condominium complex.
No major injuries were reported but three people were treated for smoke inhalation at a hospital and released.
Fire Chief Larry Donner said the fire likely would have been contained to a single apartment if the building had a sprinkler system.
“It makes a world of a difference,” he said.
Police spokeswoman Julie Brooks said there was no reason to suspect arson.
Resident Matt Cooke, 28, said the fire may have started in an apartment next to his whose residents were using a propane-fueled tiki torch. They are decorative poles with a reservoir at the top and wick that can be lighted.
The fire erupted about 2:45 a.m. in one section of the three-building Gold Run Condominium complex, located east of the University of Colorado campus. Officials crews from Boulder, Longmont, Louisville and Mountain responded, and had the fire contained by 7 a.m.
Of the 50 people displaced by the fire, more than 20 are believed to be CU students. The school said students without any other arrangements could spend Friday night in the mat room at its recreation center. Officials were also looking for hotel rooms to house students until they could find other places to live and helping students contact faculty about coursework, spokesman Bronson Hilliard said.
The American Red Cross was also assisting the affected residents.
