Rescuers Find Mother, 2 Kids Unconscious During Condo Fire
ARAPAHOE COUNTY, Colo. (CBS4) - Two children, their mother and a sheriff's deputy are in the hospital after a Friday morning fire at a condo building in Arapahoe County.
The fire broke out just before 9 a.m. at the Club Valencia building at 1303 South Parker Road. Officials with South Metro Fire Rescue said multiple units sustained damage.
Rick Mann, a resident of the building, told CBS4 the woman and her two children were unconscious inside a ground floor unit of the building when he and others ran to help.
"I heard the alarms going off in the hallways so I ran down the hallway to see if I could isolate where it was coming from and I see the smoke coming out from under the door," Mann told CBS4.
"I tried to push it open, but the mother was up against the door and I couldn't get it open, so I ran around outside just as a guy had broken the back door open to try to get her out.
"Then we finally got her away from the door and got her outside and then somebody else had got the two kids out."
The deputy who had to be taken the hospital was suffering from smoke inhalation. Authorities said crews also treated another deputy on the scene for smoke inhalation.
The extent of the injuries to mother children wasn't immediately clear. The father of the kids told CBS4 he had left for work when the fire broke out. He said the children are a 3-year-old girl and a 1-year-old boy.
The cause of the fire is under investigation. Authorities believe it started in the kitchen.