Neighbors Break Into Rescue Mode In Burning Apartment Building
ARAPAHOE COUNTY, Colo. (CBS4) - A mother and her two toddlers are recovering after being rescued from their burning apartment.
Firefighters rushed to the blaze at the Club Valencia apartment complex at 1303 South Parker Road near Mississippi Avenue just before 9 a.m. Friday morning.
Investigators believe the fire started by something cooking on the stovetop in an apartment kitchen.
Thomas Uzzle, a resident, didn't know his building was on fire until firefighters came knocking.
"The fire department was knocking on everybody's doors, asking everybody to evacuate," Uzzle said. "And so I got my stuff together and got out of the house as quickly as I could."
Crews arrived on scene within minutes and began putting out flames.
Rick Mann was already in rescue mode at the home of his neighbors.
"I could see the smoke coming out from under the door," Mann said. "So I tried to push it open, but the mother was up against the door and I couldn't get it open."
Firefighters broke through glass to get inside.
Mann pulled the woman out through the front door as firefighters and deputies rescued her two children from the back door.
All three victims were unconscious when they were pulled out of the building and rushed to area hospitals, according to Mann.
"Hopefully everything's okay. I guess the kids are okay now and the mother, and that's good to hear," he said.
The children's father, Hussein Gorgafoorv, had left the home for work before the fire broke out.
He said his 3-year-old girl and 1-year-old boy were inside the apartment with their mother.
Firefighters kept flames from spreading to any other units within the old structure that officials said was not up to new building fire code standards.
"(The building) is round and does not have sprinkler systems like the newer buildings," explained Chief Jerry Rhodes of Cunningham Fire Protection District.
There was no word on the conditions of the mother and her two children, who were still in the hospital as of Friday evening.
Two deputies assisting in the rescues suffered smoke inhalation. One of them was taken to an area hospital and later released.
The fire displaced the family in the unit that burned. All other apartment building residents had been allowed to return to their homes.
Officials were reminding the public not to leave food cooking unattended.
Melissa Garcia has been reporting for CBS4 News since March 2014. Find her bio here, follow her on Twitter @MelissaGarciaTV, or send your story idea to mkgarcia@cbs.com.