BOULDER — Boulder police said Sunday that an apartment complex that caught fire Saturday 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 up others at the Millennium Hotel.
The residents will not be allowed to retrieve any of their belongings until inspectors can review air-quality test results, said Boulder Police Department spokeswoman Sarah Huntley in a statement. This is expected to take at least a day.
The three-alarm blaze erupted about 5:15 p.m. at 949 Marine St., a 50-unit complex whose occupants are mainly University of Colorado at Boulder 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.
Containing the blaze required all the city’s resources, and departments from surrounding areas were called in to help.
The cause of the fire has not been determined, although fire investigators say it appears to be accidental, Huntley said.
