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Firefighters credit sprinkler system for saving building
Herald Staff Writer
Photo by STEVE LEWIS/Herald
Quartermaster Dave Imming of Durango Fire & Rescue Authority uses a video camera to document the cause of a kitchen fire that occurred Monday afternoon at the Hillcrest Apartments, 1000 Goeglein Gulch Road. Imming said the sprinkler system prevented the fire from spreading to the rest of the apartment.
"I don't think that we squirted any water. I think it went out as soon as that sprinkler water hit it."
- Tom Kaufman, DFRA fire marshal
"I don't think that we squirted any water," said Fire Marshal Tom Kaufman, with the Durango Fire & Rescue Authority. "I think it went out as soon as that sprinkler water hit it."
The fire, which was reported about 5:20 p.m., started in the kitchen of a third-floor apartment. Firefighters were focusing on kitchen appliances - possibly a toaster oven or a coffee maker - as being the possible source of ignition, Kaufman said.
The sprinklers, which shoot about 15 gallons of water per minute, limited the spread to one corner of the kitchen. The apartment sustained some smoke and water damage, but there was minimal damage to personal property.
The apartment below was unoccupied.
Jamie Marquez, a representative to the owner of Hillcrest Apartments, said the tenants who rented the apartment will be moved to another unit until repairs can be made.
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