Dry Conditions May Have Played A Role In Apartment Fire

DENVER (CBS4) - Firefighters say dry conditions could have played a role in an apartment fire on Monday in Denver.

They believe the fire started at approximately 7:45 p.m. in bushes next to the apartments at 3129 West Arkansas Avenue, near Federal Boulevard.

Two apartments have fire damage and two more have smoke damage.

Cellphone video from a witness showed just how quickly the fire spread. It shows flames shooting from a unit on the third floor. Officials said the fire went up the side of the building and got into the attic.

One unit belongs to a mother of four whose husband was recently hospitalized with a stroke.

"They had money they were saving because her husband had a massive stroke has not been able to work for the last 3 months so she had cash she is sure that was burned up, all of her papers -- everything they owned," said a friend who was helping to translate for the woman.

Firefighters said Monday night they were checking into a report that children might have been playing with matches before the fire broke out.

A few people at the scene of the fire were treated for smoke inhalation but no one was taken to the hospital.