A woman was found dead early Friday morning in an Aurora apartment fire in which flames were seen shooting 30 feet into the air out of the upper-floor windows, according to the fire department.
The woman’s Australian shepherd was injured after it jumped from the third-floor balcony and is being treated at a veterinary office.
The name of the victim has not been released. No firefighters were injured while extinguishing the fire in the Ponderosa Villas Apartments.
Neighbors described the woman as a single woman in her 60s. The woman would often wear scarves and hats while walking her chubby Aussie for a walk.
“She never seemed to have a bad day. She always had a smile on her face,” said Stephanie McKnight, 29, a neighbor.
The fire department received emergency calls at 2:03 a.m. after heavy black smoke and flames were seen leaping out of a third-floor apartment at 1519 S. Galena Way, according to reports by Aurora Fire Rescue. Several neighbors said they heard two loud explosions.
“I was scared. I thought somebody was shooting a gun,” said Hector Moreno, 26.
“The last time I heard an explosion like that, I was in Iraq,” said Alex McKnight, who served a tour while in the Army. “It had a deep reverberating sound.”
When McKnight went outside, the porch was completely engulfed and he could feel the heat about 100 feet away. Four fire engines were already there, battling the blaze.
“It was an amazing response. The fire could have spread to other apartments,” he said.
Battalion Chief Matt Jepkes said the firefighters worked aggressively and were able to contain the fire to one apartment. Two apartments below the woman’s apartment sustained water damage, and the residents will be displaced.
Ten firefighting engines and trucks responded to the fire, according to an Aurora Facebook post.
The cause of the fire is under investigation. Jepkes said that one possibility was that a barbecue grill propane tank exploded on the woman’s balcony.
Pieces of burned furniture were set on the ground outside the apartment.
