1 Dead After Vehicle Crash, Fire At Vacant Building In Longmont
LONGMONT, Colo. (CBS4)- Firefighters battled a large fire inside a vacant building in Longmont on Wednesday afternoon. Police said the fire started after a man crashed his vehicle into the building.
Copter4 flew over the fire at the vacant building at Boston and Bowen in Longmont on Wednesday afternoon. There were huge plumes of smoke and flames seen rising from the building's roof.
Longmont Police Cmdr. Jeff Satur said the man driving the pickup was at a stop sign when he accelerated and drove the car across the street into the building. He went right through the wall and struck something inside the building which then burst into flames.
Satur said two teenagers inside the vehicle, ages 13 and 15, escaped the vehicle and flames.
"Car into building caught on fire, two kids that were in the car, a 13-year-old girl and a 15-year-old boy were able to escape the fire," said Satur.
The man inside the car, likely the father of the teens, did not escape. Fire crews said the building was still unsafe to enter on Wednesday night and would recover his body on Thursday.
"Car into building caught on fire, two kids that were in the car, a 13-year-old girl and a 15-year-old boy were able to escape the fire," said Satur.
Firefighters did not know what caused the fire to start. They may not know for a while because it would take some time to get inside the building and investigate what happened.
"It was a very hot fire and it took a significant amount of water to get this under control and from multiple angles of attack," said Satur.
Police will try to figure out if a medical condition is behind the sudden acceleration and crash into the building.
"It couldn't have been going that fast. It's only 50, 60 yards from the stop sign to the building so it couldn't have been going that fast when it hit," said Satur.
The building has been unoccupied since last fall's flooding. Before then it was AA Plumbing Company.
