Firefighters rescued as many as 10 people hanging on to upper floor balconies while others leaped from lower balconies today as a two-alarm fire displaced 150 residents of an apartment complex.
Three people were taken to area hospitals for treatment of smoke and fire injuries while a fourth person was treated at the Britannia Heights apartments, 1255 S. Bellaire St., said Phil Champagne, Denver fire spokesman.
“People were getting panicky,” Champagne said. “Some were jumping from balconies.”
Several people reported hearing explosions at 4:58 p.m., he said. The fire apparently started in room 212 when an oxygen tank exploded. The blaze spread quickly, Champagne said. A man inside the apartment was injured badly. His condition is unknown, Champagne said.
When firefighters arrived at the building in the southwest corner of the complex the smoke was so black and thick they had trouble seeing the balconies.
“The smoke was very dense,” Champagne said.
Fire supervisors almost immediately upgraded the inferno to second alarm status, with 66 firefighters in 16 different types of engines responding, he said.
Firefighters entered the third floor of the six-floor building with 72 apartments and quickly worked to contain the fire to the second floor, Champagne said.
Firefighters in ladder trucks rescued people from fifth- and sixth-floor balconies, he said. Residents were helping other people get out of the building safely. Some people jumped from lower floor balconies, Champagne said.
It took firefighters about 30 minutes to extinguish the blaze, which caused “massive” smoke damage, he said.
Flames, smoke and water damage made 56 apartments uninhabitable, displacing about 150 people, he said.
The American Red Cross found apartments for the people.
Kirk Mitchell: 303-954-1206 or kmitchell@denverpost.com
