JAKOB RODGERS
The Gazette

Colorado Springs firefighters plucked three people from a third- story balcony Sunday morning when a fire broke out at an apartment building on the city's southwest side.


No one was injured in the fire at 868 Oxford Lane, which was knocked down by 50 firefighters on 12 vehicles from two stations, according to Lt. Kriss Soppe of the Colorado Springs Fire Department.

The call to the fire department came at 10:15 a.m., Soppe said, and crews arrived to find heavy smoke billowing from a thrid-story window.

Two adults and a child were hauled down from a balcony by ladder, Soppe said. He said the fire did not originate in that apartment unit.

Katherine Watkins, who lives on the third floor, said she heard pounding on her apartment door, and when she opened it, smoke poured in.

"It was really thick smoke, and I couldn't breathe," Watkins said. "It was like my throat was stinging and dry."

She said she grabbed her purse, keys and some financial papers, then ducked down under the smoke and dashed out the hallway and out of the building. Once outside, she said, she remembered a 92-year- old woman who lives on the first floor, and she went back into the building to escort the woman out.

Soppe said the fire was confined to a single apartment unit, but smoke permeated much of the third floor. He said the fire's cause has not been determined, and crews continue to hunt down hotspots. No estimate of damage has been provided yet.

It was a busy Sunday morning for fire department. Just before 1 a.m., 40 firefighters raced to 634 Tower Street, on the city's west side, to knock down a fire that appeared to have originated in the basement. The fire was extinguished in 21 minutes, officials said, and one person was treated for smoke inhalation.

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October 10, 2010