Natural Gas Explosion Caused Fatal Aurora Fire
AURORA, Colo. (CBS4) - An accidental natural gas explosion triggered an early-morning fire that killed one person and damaged two homes in Aurora on Tuesday.
The victim's identity hasn't been released. Neighbors said an elderly woman lived in one of the homes.
The blaze heavily damaged her home and then spread to another in the 12000 block of East Iowa Street. Four people live in the second home, neighbors said.
"We just saw smoke in the air. I ran out front and the window busted out and there was just flames coming out," 13-year-old neighbor Dominica Lopez said. "We had to get the neighbors that were next to them out of the house because their house was catching on fire, too."
She ran across the street to make sure the mother, father and 2-year-old inside made it out safely.
Xcel Energy is inspecting homes in the area to make sure there is no further danger.
Copter4 aerial video showed one home fully engulfed just after 6 a.m. The fire was extinguished within one hour.
"When crews arrived on scene they found one structure fully involved with fire and it did expose to another structure," Capt. Diane Lord with the Aurora Fire Department said.
Lord said that crews were able to put out the fire at the second home but continued to battle the fire at the home where the fire originated.
Fire officials confirm there was some sort of explosion at the home before the fire.
Neighbor Brandon Trahan said he would often help out the woman who is suspected to have died.
"It was just breathtaking that something like that would have happened," Trahan said.
