Training Kicks In For Former Firefighter After Neighbor's Unit Catches Fire
THORNTON, Colo. (CBS4) – A neighbor acted quickly to help others at his apartment complex on Tuesday when a fire burned in a unit just a couple doors down from him. Days later, he's sharing his story with CBS4 while some families are still cleaning up from the mess the fire created.
Around 9 a.m. that day Christian Anderson was outside his apartment when he heard a smoke detector go off. He knocked on the door but there was no answer.
"Tried the doorknob anyway, it was a little warmer than usual," he said. "Once I opened the door, there was smoke down to knee level."
Inside he found a man standing up and staring at the flames inside. Anderson knew he had to get the man out and call 911.
"I grabbed him, pulled him out, asked him if anyone else was inside," he said.
Anderson was surprised by the man's state while inside but didn't have time to think about his intentions.
"He was wide awake, fully dressed, just standing up staring at what he had done," said Anderson.
Thornton police would later arrest Juan Perez on arson charges. Anderson says the man disappeared from the scene while he tried to control the fire.
"When I came back here, I could already see there were flames inside the window," he said.
Anderson went back to the apartment and poured some water on the flames but they exploded out of the window and onto the side of the building.
"How does this compare to some other scenes you've reacted to?" CBS4's Shawn Chitnis asked Anderson.
"I've never seen a couch or anything like that go up so fast," Anderson said.
He has experience with fires as a former volunteer firefighter. He believes that training helped him to respond quickly and warn the others in nearby units before the Thornton Fire Department arrived on scene.
Firefighters say a burning couch was the source of the flames that went on to damage much more of the apartment complex.
"I don't like being called a hero, especially when you're trained as a firefighter," Anderson said. "I feel like it's just your job as a neighbor to look out for each other."
To help the families impacted by this fire, you can visit their GoFundMe page. You can also stop by the Sunset Peak Apartments Club House on 475 Russell Blvd. Office hours are from 9 a.m. to 5:30 p.m. Monday through Friday and 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. on Saturday.
Shawn Chitnis reports on the CBS4 Morning News. Email him story ideas at smchitnis@cbs.com and connect with him on Twitter or Facebook.
