Community mourns Hayden Warlick, who died in Ivy Crossing apartment fire
Community members honored the memory of a man, who lost his life in the Ivy Crossing apartment complex in Arapahoe County.
Neighbors say this a death that could have been prevented had there been more of a push for safety from management.
At sundown, residents gave each other comfort as they mourned the loss of their neighbor, Hayden Warlick.
A vigil was set up by neighbors like, Abigail Jones, who also lived in the same building where the fire happened.
"Realizing that some people weren't as lucky and one person didn't make it out alive… it's just not fair. You don't want to forget about him cause he was is still a person. You know? He didn't deserve any of this to happen to him. We got together with one of his friends to to go ahead and do something to memorialize him," Jones said.
The fire forced Jones to jump from her balcony.
"Before I jumped, I was really scared and one of my neighbors was like, 'It's your life lady!' and so, that snapped in me and that's when I decided to jump," Jones recalled.
Investigators from the South Metro Fire Rescue and Arapahoe County Sheriff's Office determined the fire that occurred on April 8 at 2380 S. Quebec St. was human-caused and incendiary in nature.
Incendiary in nature means it was intentionally set up. Neighbors like Jones are afraid this incident could happen again.
"These are low-income families and just because you know, these people don't make as much as somebody else, doesn't mean that they deserve any of this," Jones said. "I'm scared someone is going to strike again in this community."
Two months prior to the fire, inspectors found a number of fire code violations including, missing fire alarm systems and detached smoke detectors.
"Honestly, I would rather die before anybody else dies before another fire. I am that passionate about it, no one deserves this! I'm for the people and I will sit here and fight until we find out what happened," Jones said.
CBS News Colorado reached out to the victim's father as he requested privacy, space and respect for his family during this time.
Neighbors express the fight for safety at this apartment complex has just begun.
