'He Loved His Children': Wife Talks About Husband Killed In Massive Fire
By Jamie Leary
DENVER (CBS4) - The wife of a missing construction worker was trying to stay strong while authorities searched through the rubble of the Emerson Street construction site that burned to the ground Wednesday.
"I think that he would do everything in his will, if he could, to get out of there. He loved his children so. I mean, he loved me," said Evette Flores-Prieto, 28.
Unfortunately, the remains of Roberto Flores-Prieto, 28, were located about 4:30 p.m. Thursday, a day after the fire started.
Flores-Prieto spent his career working with insulation. According to his wife, he was spraying foam insulation on the 5th floor of the building under construction on Wednesday when the structure caught fire.
She says someone spotted him just as the construction workers were evacuating.
"Some other construction workers say they saw him on the 3rd floor when everything started... he was asking... I mean he was trying to find a way out," said Evette.
Evette spent the day Wednesday, after the fire, desperately trying to locate him.
"I called all the hospitals around, looked for 'John Does', looked for my husband. Nothing…" she cried.
Fire investigators have not released the names of the two construction workers who were missing after the fire was extinguished, but did recover the body of one person from the site on Wednesday evening. The other remains were found Thursday afternoon.
United Insulators, the company Roberto worked for, confirmed it was his remains that were found on Thursday.
United Insulators has been lending what support it can to Evette and the couple's children, 7-year-old Issac and 2-year-old Mikaela.
The company is trying to help secure emergency visas to fly Roberto's family from Mexico to Denver.
The company has also set up a GoFundMe page to help the family with expenses.
Jamie Leary joined the CBS4 team in 2015 and currently works as a reporter for CBS4 News at 5 p.m. and 6 p.m. She couldn't imagine a better place to live and work and will stop at nothing to find the next great story. Jamie loves learning about and hearing from her fellow community members, so connect with her on Facebook or Twitter @JamieALeary.
