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Expecting Couple Left With Nothing After Deadly Apartment Fire

By Jamie Leary

WESTMINSTER, Colo. (CBS4) - The ATF is now assisting with the investigation of a deadly apartment fire in Westminster. Two people were killed and hundreds displaced in the fire.

It was just before 2 a.m. Sunday when flames ripped through the Westbury apartment complex.

The American Red Cross says it has been inundated. It has received at least 100 phones calls from people impacted.

"I'm traumatized honestly. Like, I have no idea how we even got out. I just keep thinking like, two minutes. We had two minutes to spare," said Karah Davis, 23.

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CBS4's Jamie Leary interviews Karah and Bryant Davis. (credit: CBS)

Davis and her husband, Bryant, 26, are two months away from having their first child. They almost didn't make it out. Davis says she heard no alarm. Bryant, who has been deaf his entire life, woke up after smelling smoke.

Bryant had just seconds to decide what to do. It was either jump from their third floor apartment or run toward where the smoke and flames were coming from.

westbury apartment fire (from @GodzGift2k12)
(credit: @GodzGift2k12)

Davis translated as he signed and recalled what happened.

"He said, 'There was just no way to jump because he didn't want to hurt me or the baby because that's a third level, so we had no choice but to run toward the fire and the smoke," Davis said.

Bryant helped his wife cover her face and they made a run for the door. Davis continued to translate for him.

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Karah and Bryant Davis (credit: CBS)

"He said he just knew he had to do it. That we just had to try even if we weren't going to make it."

While the couple made it out of the burning building, they aren't out of the woods yet. They have no renters insurance and lost everything.

"He feels like his life has changed that he doesn't even know where to start helping build back and the same for me. I feel like we're about to welcome a son in two months and this is what were dealing with."

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(credit: CBS)

Davis says their insurance recently expired and she thought she would be okay without it until they moved in March.

A close friend of the couple set up a GoFundMe page to help the couple with personal needs and needs for their son, JJ.

Police in Westminster also want to talk to four people, believed to be juveniles, in connection with a deadly apartment fire early Sunday morning. Witnesses tell investigators they grabbed fire extinguishers to try to put out the fire.

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(credit: CBS)

Residents who still need help can call the American Red Cross at 1-800-417-0495.

Any witnesses to the fire who may have left the scene are asked to contact Westminster Police Detective Gordanier 303.658.4264.

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.

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