AURORA, Colo.—A fire at a three-story apartment building Saturday led to the death of a woman who fell from a second-floor balcony of a staircase, and about a dozen other people were taken to hospitals with injuries including broken legs and sprains, authorities said.
When crews arrived at the scene around 6 a.m. Saturday, an escape staircase was in flames, and residents were on balconies looking for a way down, Aurora Fire Department Capt. Allen Robnett said.
Firefighters rescued about 10 people using ladders from the ground.
Robnett said it was not clear how the woman who died fell. Her name and age weren’t immediately released. Some of those who went to hospitals were injured trying to escape the building or hand people to rescuers, while others were hurt helping people down, Robnett said.
Three police officers who helped with the rescues drove themselves to hospitals with neck, back and ankle injuries, Robnett said. They were treated and released.
Of residents taken to hospitals, one was critically injured, Robnett said. The injured included children, but he didn’t know how many.
The cause of the fire was under investigation.
