Two separate fires in the metro area Tuesday morning together left an elderly woman and a toddler dead and charred four homes, according to fire officials and neighbors.
The first fire, which officials say was caused by an accidental natural gas explosion, happened about 6 a.m. at a house on the 1500 block of Paris Court in Aurora. Neighbors heard a loud boom and found flames shooting from the woman’s home.
Fire officials said one person died in the fire but did not identify the victim.
Neighbors told The Denver Post they believed the woman died in the fire.
“Walking out of the house, it was breathtaking that something like that happened,” neighbor Brandon Trahan said, adding that when bystanders approached the woman’s home to check on her, they were forced back by flames.
“The whole house was on fire,” said Dominica Lopez, 12, who woke up her neighbors to warn them of the fast-moving blaze.
Images from a television news helicopter showed flames engulfing homes, with several firefighters on scene. The woman’s home was a total loss, and another was “significantly” damaged, officials said.
The second fire broke out shortly before 10:30 a.m. at a trailer in a mobile home park on the 4500 block of 19th Street in Boulder. The fire killed a 2-year-old boy and injured his mother and brother.
Neighbor Gerardo Ibarra Jr. said he knew the mother and her two boys, and the one who died in the fire was about 1 or 2 years old and the other son is about 5.
The mother and older boy were taken to a hospital.
Gerardo Ibarra Sr., whose son was translating from Spanish, said he saw the fire and tried to rescue the boys.
“He’s telling me that nothing was going through his mind but ‘Save the kids,’ ” Ibarra Jr. said. “(The 5-year-old) was saying, ‘My brother, my brother.’ (My dad) had to grab the (5-year-old) boy because he didn’t want to go out without his brother.”
Ibarra Sr. said he was able to get the older boy out but that the fire was too hot for him to find the toddler.
“There was just too much fire, too much smoke for him to go any farther,” Ibarra Jr. said. “He feels bad he could not get to the younger one in time.”
Tyler Stewart, who lives near the home, also was outside when the fire started and said he heard the mother screaming that her baby was inside.
Stewart said he also tried unsuccessfully to enter the structure.
“We tried to break in, and we got on all fours and tried to crawl,” he said. “It was just too hot.”
Boulder fire spokeswoman Kim Kobel said the initial call came in at 10:25 a.m. and that upon arrival, crews found the trailer home fully engulfed, with flames 20 to 30 feet high. She said one officer reported that the flames were so hot that he felt the heat as soon as he exited his squad car several houses away.
All available Boulder firefighters — 35 total — responded to the fire, and one firefighter suffered a sprained ankle.
The trailer was a total loss.
