BRIGHTON, Colo. — Karen Cooper knows she is lucky.
Her family's home in the Coal Creek Ranch neighborhood in Louisville is still standing today, and in good condition.
Just across the street, an entire stretch of her neighbors all lost their homes during the Marshall Fire.
“I try not to look out my front door, it’s painful,” Cooper said.
“We feel like we’re in two different groups,” she said, referencing the neighborhood as a whole. “Those of us who have surviving homes, we’re holding a place for those that don’t, and I feel that has a lot of responsibility, too.”
Like many homeowners, Cooper wasn’t able to see for herself what happened the night of the fire. She looked for clues on social media and eventually found a photo of a firefighter walking past her home. She learned that firefighter was from the South Adams County Fire Department (SACFD) – one of several teams that responded to her neighborhood that night.
“They were given awful circumstances, as we could see in photos, they were still there trying to save what they could.”
But like her neighbors, Cooper has a lot of unanswered questions. What was the firefighters’ strategy that night? How were they able to save some homes while others burned completely down? When they drove in, did they realize there was only one way to exit the neighborhood?
And do they understand the gratitude from families like hers?
“How do you thank someone for giving you the gift of your home?” she explained.
Cooper and several neighbors hoped a warm meal might be a good start.
Thursday night, they arranged to meet with South Adams County firefighters to say thank you in person, and hopefully get a few questions answered.
A group of homeowners joined the firefighters at their training facility in Brighton to look through pictures and videos captured by cameras on the firefighters' vehicles the night of the Marshall Fire. The neighbors also prepared an entire dinner for the occasion – with many of them bringing a home-cooked item for firefighters.
“That was one of the most horrific days in the Colorado fire service, that we would ever experience,” said SACFD Chief Kevin Vincel. “I have yet to comprehend what all happened.”
Firefighters walked homeowners through the details of their response that night: how long they were in the neighborhood (from mid afternoon until late evening), how they worked alongside other nearby fire departments that also responded to the same streets (like North Metro, West Metro, Westminster, Brighton, Arvada), how they accessed Cooper’s street when the wind blew a specific direction long enough to safely reach certain homes, and how, when available, they used homeowners’ own garden hoses to put more water onto the flames.
Lieutenant Alden Foote, engineer Robert Schuman, and firefighter Anthony Gianna all responded to the Coal Creek Ranch Neighborhood that night. They also took every opportunity to remind the homeowners that there were many other firefighters, local and out-of-town, who were also there helping.
“We did the best we could with what we had to work with in there,” Foote told the crowd.
“I’ll be honest, driving into that neighborhood, I felt helpless, like there wasn’t much we could do,” Schuman added. “Knowing we were able to save what we did and impact so many lives, that’s pretty incredible.”
Cooper wanted to know if firefighters realized their neighborhood only has one way in, and one way out – if the danger of losing an exit had ever crossed their mind?
Firefighters told her yes – they knew. And they had a plan, and they parked their vehicles accordingly. They kept in communication with other firefighters. And worst case scenario, they told her they planned to bail on foot through the golf course behind Cooper’s home.
“You went into a neighborhood you couldn't just drive a truck out, [but] you could run out,” she said, stunned by their response. “This is the very definition of hero.”
Several homeowners had the chance to ask firefighters about the specific tactics used to save their homes.
Some families wrote thank you cards and signs. Others walked up to firefighters to offer a handshake, or even a hug.
“I don’t even know how to say thank you,” Cooper said. “Like, it’s not enough. But thank you.”
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