Safe space to safety hazard; intense fire melts down Pueblo playground
PUEBLO, Colo. (KRDO) - Residents who live at the Sangre De Cristo Apartments in Pueblo say their kids lost a safe space to play after an intense fire melted a local playground.
The Pueblo Fire Department says they responded to calls about the blaze around 4 a.m. on Tuesday. The fire burned so intensely that the metal supports warped, and all the plastic melted, merging with the rubber pellets.
If you walked by the playground today, you'd find a safety hazard, not a safe place to play.
"I was pretty upset because it's sad that a lot of these kids don't really have places to go around here and play without feeling unsafe, and for this to happen in the middle of the night is just crazy," Nika Sanchez told KRDO13.
Sanchez says she would take her son here to play every day after school. The playground was a short walk from their home. They weren't the only ones; multiple neighbors told KRDO13 that their kids would go to the playground every day.
"This is unfortunate because a lot of kids actually play at this park," Sanchez said.
The Pueblo Fire Department says this fire is possibly human-related, and that could be the only closure neighbors get.
The fire department investigation closed, unable to identify the cause of the blaze, and the fire department didn't send it over to the Pueblo Police Department because there simply isn't enough to investigate.
Now, neighbors say they want to see the playground cleaned up. Not only is the twisted and unstable metal a safety hazard, but the putrid smell of burnt rubber and plastic still hangs in the air almost a day later.
They are hopeful that a new playground will rise from the ashes, because the options kids have to play safely in the area are limited.
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