Evacuees, neighbors reflect on aftermath of Friday apartment fire in Colorado Springs

COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. (KRDO) -- Two minutes is the most time you have to safely escape a fire in a home, apartment or other structure, a Red Cross spokesman said Friday in the aftermath of a fire that destroyed a building and displaced 30 tenants.

Spokesman Phil Martinez said it's worth remembering that more people die annually in such fires than in all natural disasters combined.

"Many of those evacuees didn't have time to grab their wallet, purse or even car keys," he said. "You should always have a evacuation plan. There should be two exits out of every room. You should have a bag of essentials that you can quickly grab and escape with. And your family should have a predetermined meeting place outside -- whether it's a neighbor's house or a nig tree down the block."

The fire was reported shortly before 1:30 a.m. and abruptly woke tenants who said they heard no smoke detector alert, and learned of the fire only by first hearing yelling.

One tenant was treated for minor burns.

Martinez said that of the displaced tenants, ten have either renters' insurance or are able to stay with relatives or friends.

"We will talk with them all, and make sure those folks are taken care of," he explained. "We will assess what their needs are, and their needs can change, initially. So, we will give them what they need -- whether that's a financial card, whether that's lodging. Today, with all of those folks, we made sure that we had breakfast out there, feeding."

Help for the evacuees also includes mental health and faith resources, Martinez said.

"We can refer then to other partners who can help them with finding new, long-term housing," he said.

Authorities said that the building is no longer livable after being destroyed by flames, and smoke and water damage.

One of the evacuees is Grantley Fisher, who escaped with his wife and two young daughters.

"My wife was kind of freaked out but the girls are too young to realize the danger we were in," he said. "They thought it was an adventure. My wife and I missed work today because of this. Fortunately, I have renters' insurance and have relatives I can stay with. I'll go back to work tomorrow."

As the investigation continues into what caused the fire, neighbor Gabriel Scarbrough -- who works in the fire prevention industry -- discussed why evacuees said that they heard no smoke detector tones.

"I'm honestly not surprised because these are just your standard, for-your-kitchen-fire kind of smoke alarms," he said. "It takes a decent amount of smoke to get those to go off, especially if the fire started in the attic and most of the smoke is flowing up. These buildings don't have sprinkler systems and the louder alarms that come with them."

Scarbrough said that he and his wife tested their smoke detectors and found that they worked.

"I think the apartment managers do a good job with that," he said. "They just did a test of them all not long ago."

Martinez said that a smoke detector has a life of ten years and a battery lasts around a year.

"After ten years, the sensors on those detectors aren't as effective," he said.

Scarbrough said that the complex had another fire several years ago that was caused by smoking.

Several evacuees said that they heard a loud argument in one of the units damaged by the fire, just before flames and smoke erupted.

"That seems more than a coincidence," a neighbor said. "I hope it wan't intentional."