2 dead in early morning house fire in Denver, family members say victims were a longtime married couple

Two people died in an early morning house fire in Denver. Crews arrived at the fire at Dakota Avenue and Niagara Street just before 5 a.m. Wednesday on initial reports of a trash or weed fire.

A spokesperson with the Denver Fire Department said the nextdoor neighbor called the fire in. When firefighters arrived, they found heavy smoke and heavy fire coming from the home and entered the home and began efforts to extinguish that fire.

They found two victims inside the home and began performing CPR. Both victims were pronounced dead on scene. The victims have not been identified.

Throughout Wednesday afternoon, several family members arrived at the home. CBS Colorado spoke with those family members who said the victims were a married couple in their 80s. Their family says they lived at the home for almost 50 years and were married for nearly 60 years.

The family added the victims were a loving couple and well known in their community and church community. The female victim had just gotten home from a three-day stay in a local hospital. Many family members were at the home the day prior to the fire.

Crews are still investigating the cause of the fire. They were monitoring hotspots throughout the day.

No other homes were impacted.