Cause of Sunday apartment fire still undetermined
The cause of a Sunday apartment fire in the Southeast Heights that displaced seven families remains unknown, city officials said at a Tuesday morning news conference.
However, a gas meter that burned and ultimately ruptured as a result of the fire has been ruled out.
“I know there was some confusion about the gas meter and the involvement in the cause of the fire,” Albuquerque Fire Department Chief Paul Dow said. “... When we were extinguishing the building, there was a point where the flames did compromise the gas meter. That caused damage to the meter and caused it to rupture.”
One of the displaced families had said
they believed a meter behind their apartment had started the fire, which was reported in Tuesday’s Journal.
Dow said firefighters had to turn off the meter before continuing to battle the blaze, which started at around 4:30 p.m. Sunday. The team of around 30 firefighters got the fire under control in less than 16 minutes, he said.
Dow said there were no injuries to residents, but one firefighter did hurt his knee. He is expected to recover.
The residents who spoke to the Journal also claimed the smoke alarms in the buildings did not function.
Dow said it appears there were smoke alarms present in the units, but he does not know if they were in working order or not.
The building was last inspected by the department in 1997, Dow said.
“Unfortunately, we do not have enough inspectors so we rely on the public to give us information, especially with apartment complexes,” Dow said.
City ordinance requires rented residences to have working smoke alarms.
While the eight units all had varying levels of smoke damage, two families have been allowed to return to the U-shaped building on Georgia Avenue near Zuni.
“Most of the contents of the apartments were significantly damaged, not just from smoke and fire but from our extinguishing methods,” Dow said.
The other families are working with Red Cross and other social service programs to start rebuilding.
The 29 people affected by the fire and their pets were temporarily housed at the Manzano Mesa Multigenerational Center until Monday afternoon.
“It has been a tremendous example of how we can come together as a city, how we can work as one city across department and across jurisdictions to do what we need to do in an emergency situation,” Mayor Tim Keller said.
St. Martin’s HopeWorks has provided vouchers for displaced residents to stay in hotels until they find permanent housing.