People who live and work in 13 buildings near the scene of a fatal, three-alarm fire are not allowed inside because heavy smoke, melted electrical meters and missing windows have created unsafe conditions.
Capt. Greg Pixley, a spokesman for the Denver Fire Department, said emergency management officials were figuring out how many people were affected. The Denver Police Department will be setting up a system where people can be escorted inside to retrieve belongings.
It will take time before everyone is allowed to return to their homes because repairs have to be made and then those buildings have to be inspected. The Red Cross is helping displaced people find housing.
Pixley encouraged affected residents and workers to call the city’s 311 hotline to get the latest information. He also recommended people consult to find information on filing claims.
The fire’s intense heat melted electrical meters on multiple buildings, meaning electricity flowing inside cannot be regulated. That is another safety hazard, Pixley said.
“They were just absolutely eliminated due to the heat,” he said.
It could take weeks for fire and police investigators to determine the cause of the fire, which started shortly after noon Wednesday at a construction site at 1833 Emerson Street, Pixley said. Investigators from the federal Occupational Safety and Health Administration also will investigate the fire since it happened a work site where about 50 people were working Wednesday to build a five-story apartment complex.
“When a building collapses there are just layers and layers of debris,” he said.
The fire killed one person, who has not been identified by the Denver Medical Examiner’s Office. A second person is missing. Two other area fire departments had brought cadaver dogs to the scene to help searchers look for a body, Pixley said. That search has been slowed by embers and sparks that Denver firefighters continue to douse.
If any other families believe someone is missing from the fire scene, they should call the Denver Police Department, said Sonny Jackson, a department spokesman.
Another six people were injured, including a Denver firefighter who suffered burns on his hands, arms and face. He was has been released from the hospital, Pixley said.
Pixley praised the response at the scene, saying it could have been much worse if construction workers and others in the nearby area had not helped each other escape the flames. Some workers jumped from the third story to get away.
The Emerson Street fire spread quickly due to exposed wood at the construction site. Neighbors reported hearing explosions, which the fire department said could have been caused by construction equipment or car tires.
Three-alarm fires are rare, Pixley said. The last one in the metro area happened in December 2013 when a construction site in Glendale caught fire.
