Second body found in rubble of site under construction
Investigators on Thursday found a body in the rubble of an under-construction, five-story apartment building destroyed a day earlier by a fire that burned so fiercely that it damaged 13 nearby buildings, displacing residents and workers indefinitely.
Denver Fire Department spokesman Capt. Greg Pixley said the victim was found “in close proximity” to the body discovered Wednesday afternoon.
Cadaver dogs were used at the site Thursday. Their hunt was slowed by embers and sparks that Denver firefighters continued to douse.
It probably will be a long time before the identities of the two victims are confirmed because of the intensity of the fire that consumed the Emerson Place Apartments.
But workers at United Insulators set up a GoFundMe page for Roberto Flores, a colleague and father of two young children. Flores was working on the fifth floor of the building at 1833 Emerson St. when the fire broke out.
They said police notified his immediate family that his body was found Thursday afternoon.
Evette Flores Prieto on Thursday morning told Denver7 that her husband had been doing spray-foam insulation for a long time and always wore the proper safety gear.
His co-workers told her he was just about to take a break when the fire started.
“My husband had said he was going to finish up what he had left, then go to lunch,” she said. “He never showed up.”
Investigators from the federal Occupational Safety and Health Administration also will investigate the fire since it happened at a work site.
About 50 people had been working on the 84-unit apartment complex when the fire broke out.
“When a building collapses, there are just layers and layers of debris,” Pixley said.
People who live and work in 13 buildings near the scene of the three-alarm fire are not allowed inside because heavy smoke, melted electrical meters and missing windows have created unsafe conditions.
The damage to electrical meters prevents the regulation of the flow of electricity inside, Pixley said.
“They were just absolutely eliminated due to the heat,” he said.
The Denver Police Department will be setting up a system where people can be escorted inside to retrieve belongings, but it will take time before everyone is allowed to return to their homes because repairs must be made and the building must be inspected. The Red Cross is helping displaced people find housing.
Pixley encouraged affected residents and workers to call Denver’s 311 hotline to get the latest information. He also recommended people consult the Colorado Department of Insurance’s website to find information on filing claims.
It could take weeks for fire and police investigators to determine the cause of the fire, which injured six people, including a Denver firefighter who suffered burns on his hands, arms and face. He has been released from the hospital, Pixley said.
If other families believe someone is missing from the fire scene, they should call the Denver Police Department, said Sonny Jackson, a department spokesman.