Asbestos forces crews to use protective gear while fighting fire

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BOULDER - Firefighters worked quickly Monday to put out an early morning fire at an apartment complex near the University of Colorado campus.

Sarah Huntley, public information officer for the Boulder Fire Department says crews responded to the Holly Apartment Complex located at 1821 22nd St. around 2:30 a.m.

"All I heard was people yelling and screaming and I look up and there's this big orange glow in the bedroom," said Jamie Smith, a resident. "I'm just in shock, I'm in shock. I don't know how all this happened, this is all an amazement to me."

Firefighters worked to fight the fire from the outside of the building, according to the fire marshall.

Resident Chris Schuman says when he woke up, it took him a few minutes to figure out what was happening.

"I was like really asleep, and the first thing I heard was the sirens, and I thought it was like somewhere else," said Schuman. "Some guy was outside yelling, so my girlfriend was leaning out the window…the guy was like yeah it's this building, it's really bad, get out. So we started scrambling to grab stuff."

Investigators believe a juniper bush caught fire outside of the building and quickly spread up through the apartment complex.

Three or four units sustained some fire damage, but there were no injuries to residents or firefighters. All of the residents inside the 31-unit complex evacuated before the fire marshall arrived on scene.

Huntley says firefighters wore protective gear while fighting the fire due to the asbestos believed to be inside the drywall.

"It was confirmed that there was asbestos in the sheet rock of the building material that was used back when this structure was built," says David Lowery, Chief Fire Marshall for the Boulder Fire Department.

The fire marshall says residents may have to wait up to a day before returning to their homes as the air quality of the apartment building has to be tested.

Schuman says he didn't notice any sprinklers inside the building, nor did he hear an alarm in his apartment, however he says there was an alarm going off in the hallway of the building. Schuman says the fire struck at a coincidental time for him. Only a few nights ago he and his girlfriend had talked about what they'd do in case of a fire.

"She woke me up a couple nights ago, and said, 'Chris if there was a fire, what would be the first thing you'd grab?' And I said, 'My laptop.' And I'm kind of glad we had that conversation, otherwise I wouldn't know what to do," said Schuman.

Huntley says that residents are asked to return to the building at 1:30 so firefighters can assist with pulling out emergency items such as medication, wallets and keys.

The fire remains under investigation and no one was injured. The American Red Cross has responded to help those displaced by the fire.