ADAMS COUNTY — Two apartments were destroyed Wednesday when a fire broke out in an apartment complex in unincorporated Adams County.
One unit at 1800 Nueva Vista Drive was heavily damaged by the fire itself and the other by water, said North Washington Fire District Battalion Chief Mike Ramos.
The exact cause of the blaze — which started in the kitchen of a second-floor apartment — wasn’t known as of late Wednesday.
Up to 24 other apartments were affected by smoke from the fire, but they had been judged habitable by fire officials, and residents would be allowed to return, said Red Cross spokeswoman Patricia Demchak Billinger.
Residents of the apartments deemed unhabitable will be moved to vacant space in the same apartment complex, Billinger said.
“We’re saddened for the loss of the two families whose apartments were lost, especially the day before Thanksgiving,” Billinger said. “But we are thankful today that the damages were far less than we originally feared.”
Diane Martinez, whose family lived across the hallway from the apartment where the fire started, said her son started knocking on doors trying to alert people when he saw smoke filling the complex.
“We were so lucky today,” Martinez said. “It could have been so much worse.”
Monte Whaley: 720-929-0907 or mwhaley@denverpost.com
