Fire department: Smoke detectors not required in area where Apex Apartments fire started

COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. (KRDO)-- 64 people are now displaced from their homes after an apartment complex caught fire Saturday morning in northeast Colorado Springs. The fire at the Apex Apartments started after lightning struck the building, causing a fire in the attic, according to fire investigators with the Colorado Springs Fire Department (CSFD).

It took 50 firefighters 90 minutes to put out the fire which destroyed 34 apartments, CSFD said. No one was injured in the fire, but some residents are feeling lucky that's the case, after they say the fire was well underway before smoke alarms went off.

According to CSFD, there were no smoke detectors in the attic of the complex. The fire department said that under building code, it's not a requirement to have smoke detectors in an attic. Without the detectors, CSFD said smoke alarms in the homes did not go off until fire reached that area. But, CSFD says they eventually went off when the fire hit the rooms.

One resident, Matt Pape, said he has lived in the new apartment complex since June. He is the first one to live in his unit. He said he heard no smoke alarms go off until after he evacuated the building. He's thankful for the individuals that knocked on his doors and told him to get out.

"We can buy new stuff, but I'm just glad that we're okay," resident Matt Pape said. Pape says he just started living in the new apartment complex in June. He claims he didn't hear smoke alarms going off until after he evacuated the building. He said his neighbors came to save him beforehand, knocking on his door and telling him to get out.

While all people are accounted for, CSFD says they rescued two dogs, two cats and there are still pets that are unaccounted for.

CSFD was out during the day Saturday trying to get belongings back to residents.

The Red Cross is offering assistance, placing residents who need housing in an emergency shelter. They're currently working to put residents in temporary or permanent housing.