Firefighters rescued as many as 10 people hanging from upper-floor balconies while others leaped from lower balconies Wednesday as a two-alarm fire displaced 150 residents of an apartment complex.
Three people were taken to hospitals for treatment of smoke and fire injuries while a fourth person was treated at 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. 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 that they had trouble seeing the balconies.
Firefighters in ladder trucks rescued people from fifth- and sixth-floor balconies, he said. Residents were helping others get out of the building.
Flames, smoke and water damage made 56 apartments uninhabitable, displacing about 150 people, Champagne said.
