Apartment fire leaves 1 dead, 1 hurt, others without homes
Woman who died reportedly wouldn’t leave her burning unit, couldn’t be rescued
Afire Saturday morning at Los Piñones Apartment Homes in northern Santa Fe left a woman dead, another resident injured and several tenants displaced. The Santa Fe Fire Department suppressed the multistory blaze, which damaged at least two buildings in the 300 block of apartments north of the De Vargas Center.
Joni Stotts, a manager of the complex, said residents of the affected apartments could not return until repairs were made. “If it wasn’t fire damage, it was smoke damage,” Stotts said.
The investigation at the apartment complex, on Calle Mejia, just off St. Francis Drive, was still active Saturday afternoon, with officials from city police and fire departments and the state Office of the Medical Investigator trying to determine the cause.
Santa Fe police Deputy Chief Ben Valdez said a resident had called 911 around 7:30 a.m. to report a neighbor’s couch was on fire. The operator at the Santa Fe Regional Emergency Communications Center advised the caller to tell the neighbor to evacuate, the deputy chief said, but the woman did not leave and later was found deceased by firefighters.
No other residents were found in the burning apartment unit.
Valdez said the identity of the deceased woman would not be released until relatives were notified.
Authorities believe the woman was alive when the neighbor called 911, and that the neighbor told the woman to evacuate, as instructed by the 911 dispatcher, Valdez
said, but she did not follow the instructions.
When two police officers arrived, Valdez said, they could see smoke from inside the apartment and kicked down the door. Overcome by smoke, they were unable to enter, but called out and did not receive a response.
The officers were taken to a local hospital as a precaution, Valdez said, and one was treated at the scene for smoke inhalation.
As firefighters fought the blaze, residents were sent to the nearby Lodge at Santa Fe, where they were picked up by friends or family members or sought aid from the American Red Cross, which the city had asked to help with services for the displaced residents.
Residents said they woke up to police officers pounding on doors, yelling, “Evacuate, evacuate,” just before 8 a.m.
Daniel Fresquez and his son, Jeremiah, who have lived for four months in the building where the fire ignited, said they only managed to grab keys, a phone and a laptop before evacuating.
“I didn’t smell anything,” Daniel Fresquez said. “Didn’t hear any alarms, only the sirens, and only when cops were yelling for evacuation did we know something was happening.”
He and his son will most likely stay with his brother who lives in town, he said.
Fresquez said a maintenance worker at the complex helped organized residents as they evacuated and was trying to make sure everyone was accounted for.
Christian and Gabrielle Lemp, who live in a building adjacent to the fire, said they woke up to “people running around.”
Christian Lemp said he looked out a bedroom window and saw the fire.
The couple managed to grab their dog, Sanuk, and a few clothes before evacuating. They were still trying to figure out where they would stay.
“We weren’t harmed and our belongings are probably OK, so we don’t need a lot of special attention,” Christian Lemp said.
Officials said displaced residents who do need assistance can contact the American Red Cross at 505-265-8514.