Report: Fire At Senior Living Complex Accidental, Residents Didn't Have To Move
LITTLETON, Colo. (CBS4) - Investigators now say a fire in April at a senior living apartment complex was accidental. A new report also reveals many residents didn't have to leave their apartment during repairs to the building.
A fire forced seniors in 130 apartments to look for a new place to live at Southview Place Towers in Littleton. But now, according to a report from the Littleton Fire Department, the complete evacuation might not have been necessary.
"That kind of upsets me because it was a home for five years and I didn't see any reason why we had to leave except they said there was asbestos in the fire and smoke throughout the building," former tenant Elvessia Wing said.
Wing lived on the second floor with her 84-year-old mother.
The report says air samples passed an air test 15 days after the fire on April 6. The fire itself was traced to a fourth floor dishwasher. The report also states the remaining portions of the building were okay to occupy.
Just after the fire management told CBS4 it would be easier to renovate the building with the tenants gone.
Wing and her mother have since moved to another senior apartment in Denver.
The company who owns the building has not made a comment on the new report.
