AURORA, Colo. — Aurora Fire responded to a large fire at an apartment building under construction Saturday afternoon that's expected to keep a major intersection closed for days.
The fire department said crews were called to the building near the intersection of East Colfax Avenue and Peoria Street at 12:48 p.m.
In a press conference Monday, Carlos Oropeza, the Aurora Fire Rescue Public Information Officer, said that crews were still on scene trying combat the fire.
"We are currently in an operational phase; we are fighting active pockets of fire at this time," he said. "As a result, we do have apparatus deployed and will have the streets shut down for the foreseeable future. We don’t have a definitive timeline on when they might open up again."
Oropeza said the power to the block is currently shut off including water, power and gas. He confirmed that all utilities were going into the building when the fire happened.
He said the department is using drones to help look for hot spots and to begin the initial investigation into the fire.
Oropeza said a preliminary investigation has been started but because there is so much damage and a significant risk of collapse, no personnel have been sent for the investigation.
He said the in the next couple of days, the department will probably bring in heavy equipment to knock down the remaining walls as it is not safe to enter the building.
Orozco said there are hot spots are everywhere because when a building is being constructed there are many open voids since there is no drywall or closed doors, and the fire is just going to get in everywhere. He said no adjacent buildings were ignited.
The fire started on the top floor of the five-floor building, according to a spokesperson, and crews initially tried to attack it from the inside.
As conditions worsened, they were forced to fight the fire from the outside and called in a fifth-alarm response.
Several other agencies also responded to the fire, which created a plume of smoke that was visible throughout the metro area. In total, Aurora Fire said 42 different apparatuses were used to combat the fire.
Aurora Police said the intersection of Colfax and Peoria was shut down due to the fire. Police said the closure is expected to last for days while crews continue to work to get the fire completely out and investigate.
"We anticipate on chasing these hot spots probably another day or so, at least, and then kind of dealing with the collapse hazard from that point on," Oropeza said.
Oropeza said construction crews were in the building when the fire began and quickly evacuated. There were no injuries to firefighters.
The cause has not been determined.
This is the second apartment fire in Aurora in just one week. Aurora Fire said there's no indication at this time that they're related.
"I believe the only thing those two have in common as of right now is that they both were under construction," said Caine Hills, the deputy chief with Aurora Fire. So the origin of cause continues to be under investigation at both locations."
Oropeza was also asked on Monday if there was any connection between this fire and the fire that occurred last week in the 7300 block of South Addison Court. He said that at the moment the only thing that is known is that both buildings were under construction and that the South Addison Court fire was being investigated "as a potential criminal act at this time."
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