Boulder police said today that an apartment complex that caught fire Saturday night cannot be reopened because asbestos is present.
Twenty-seven units were damaged, and between 40 and 50 residents displaced. Most of the evacuated residents went to stay with friends, and property managers put others up at the Millennium Hotel.
The Red Cross offered to open a shelter but none of the residents was interested.
The Red Cross is opening a service center where the residents can get aid from 1 p.m. to 5 p.m. today at the University of Colorado at Boulder’s recreation center.
The residents will not able to retrieve any of their belongings until inspectors can review air-quality test results, said Boulder Police Department spokeswoman Sarah Huntley said in a statement. This is expected to take at least a day.
The three-alarm blaze erupted about 5:15 p.m. Saturday at at 949 Marine St., a 50-unit complex whose occupants are mainly CU students.
“It appeared to have started either on the third or fourth floor, smoke and flames were showing on the north side of the building when we got there,” Huntley said.
The fire “swept its way up the outside of the building and got up into the attic and essentially turned into an attic fire, which is a problem for us because there are no sprinklers in the attic, only in the occupied part of the building,” Huntley said.
More than 50 firefighters fought the fire at the four-story complex.
Containing the blaze required all the city’s resources, and departments from surrounding areas were called in to help.
One firefighter sustained a minor injury to his shoulder and was treated for heat exhaustion. There were no other injuries.
The cause of the fire has not yet been determined, although fire investigator say it appears to be accidental, Huntley said in a statement. Fireworks and any kind or grill have been ruled out.
Tom McGhee: 303-954-1671 or tmcghee@denverpost.com
