The investigation into the cause of a deadly fire Saturday at a Littleton apartment complex for seniors could take weeks and is complicated by the fact that nobody saw the fire ignite, officials said Sunday.
The fire started about 5:30 a.m. Saturday in one unit at The Windermere apartments and killed 70-year-old Michael Craig Mitchell and sent 13 residents to area hospitals for smoke inhalation and falls. All of those injured are still alive, South Metro Fire Rescue spokesman Eric Hurst said Sunday morning.
So far, fire investigators have not identified anybody who saw the fire start and have not determined whether it was an accidental blaze, Hurst said. The investigation will take longer because of the fatality and police will have to confirm that no crime took place, he said.
Residents of the building will not be able to return to their homes until at least Monday due to the air quality inside, Littleton officials said in a news release. Although the fire was contained to one unit, the smoke spread to many units in the six-story complex.
The fire displaced about 50 people, said Andy Boian, spokesman for Southview Place Towers, the complex that contains the Windermere building. The majority of those displaced stayed with family or friends Saturday night while their apartments were inaccessible, he said.
Twelve residents, many elderly, spent the night at a nearby community center that offers emergency housing during cold weather, said Andrea Carlson, spokeswoman for the American Red Cross. About 10 of those people are expected to stay at the facility Sunday night, she said.
Those staying at the shelter will have access to showers at a community recreation center and will pick up clothes at an Arc Thrift Store, Carlson said.
“Many of them still smell like smoke from the fires,” she said.
The Red Cross is also helping people acquire important items — such as glasses and oxygen tanks — that they had to leave behind while evacuating, Carlson said.
Residents will not be allowed back into their apartments until an air quality test is performed Monday, Boian said.
The company that owns the apartments will take care of any residents who can’t return to their homes after the test and can’t stay with family or friends, Boian said. They will likely be place in unoccupied units unaffected by the fire, but managers are still weighing options, he said.
“The ownership of the building will not let these folks go uncared for,” he said.
A different building in the apartment complex, Southview Place Towers, caught on fire about two years ago, he said. That fire displaced more than 100 residents.
In Aurora, a separate fire at a senior living community caused between 10 and 15 people to spend Friday and Saturday night at a local hotel after their homes were destroyed in a gas explosion and fire.
Some of the seniors had started to check out Sunday morning, a front desk receptionist at the Radisson Hotel Aurora said. The fire Friday night at Heather Gardens senior community killed one person, Carol Ross, and injured two others, including a firefighter.
Xcel Energy received reports of a gas odor about 5:30 p.m. and a fire broke out in the complex before 6 p.m., company spokesman Mark Stutz said.
An investigation into the cause of the explosion could take weeks, an Aurora Fire Rescue spokeswoman said Saturday.
