Denver firefighters battled two difficult fires, one late last night at a warehouse and another early this morning in an apartment building.
When firefighters arrived at the apartments, 1448 Madison St., at about 3:25 a.m., the fire was already “fully involved” and “people were hanging out windows trying to get out of the structure,” said Lt. Phil Champagne, a Denver Fire Department spokesman.
None of the residents were seriously injured, one was treated for minor smoke inhalation and released, Champagne said.
Firefighters used a tower bucket to blast the roof of the six-unit, three-story building with water.
The apartment fire gave firefighters a hard time, Champagne said, as the fire hid behind walls and beneath floor spaces.
“We had to chase the fire throughout the building for about an hour,” Champagne said.
About 10 residents in the building have been displaced and are being assisted by the American Red Cross.
At about 11:30 p.m. Wednesday firefighters were called to a warehouse 4900 E. 39th Ave. on a fire.
The fire, at Colorado Metallurgy, was worrisome because of chemicals in the building and security measures firefighters had to pass to gain entry, Champagne said.
Firefighters had to cut and bust through metal gates and doors to get in the building, Champagne said.
The fire, which was contained to an office area in the interior of the structure, took about 30 minutes to put out and firefighters spent another two hours mopping up, Champagne said.
The cause of both fires are under investigation.
Kieran Nicholson: 303-954-1822 or knicholson@denverpost.com.
