by Mark Smiley
Only 3,636 days separate the fire that burned Spanish Gate Apartments to the ground on December 28, 2003, and the raging fire at the Apartments at Cherry Creek Corporate Center on December 14, 2013. The eerie part of these devastations is that the two complexes are situated 200 feet from one another on South Cherry Street, north of Kentucky Avenue. The recent fire started at approximately 11:40 p.m. at South Cherry near Kentucky Ave. and was contained by 1:30 a.m. The Denver Fire Department sent 23 trucks to the scene while the Glendale and Denver Police departments, along with the Arapahoe County Sheriff’s Office, assisted with evacuating nearby neighbors. Residents to the east and south of the fire — as many as 100 — were evacuated as a precaution. Glendale Sports Center at Infinity Park was used as an evacuation center. The flames could be seen as far away as Castle Rock — about 28 miles away from the fire site. Residents highly praised the prompt response of the Denver Fire Department and the Glendale Police for largely limiting the damage to the apartments under construction. The previous fire, across the street, was started on December 28, 2003, and destroyed one of two five-story buildings at the Spanish Gate Apartments in Glendale. Residents say Blake Fieber, who admitted to setting the fire that torched 58 apartment units, engaged in a fight with his roommate. One resident, Nancy Weaver, perished in the fire, in what was described as a slow and agonizing death. Blake Fieber pleaded guilty to a negligent homicide charge, and a lesser count of arson, as part of a plea agreement that called for the original 41 charges to be dropped. Fieber was to stand trial for first-degree murder and arson, among other charges.
Neighboring apartments in this December 2013 fire may have had exterior damage due to extreme heat. One of those belongs to Kentucky Ridge homeowner and City Councilman Dario Katardzic. His blinds are completely scorched and the framework around the window is charred. “I lost my first home in the war in Bosnia,” said Katardzic. I was 90 percent sure I was going to lose this home as well.” Jamie Brady lives in the 4550 Cherry Creek apartment homes adjacent to the fire. Brady tells the Chronicle, “I didn’t hear any explosions that some people reported hearing. I could hear the sounds you would expect from a building fire: wood popping from the heat or collapsing as their supports gave way or were knocked down by the hose.” A ladder engine was already set up on Cherry Street and beginning to engage the fire from above. “I then noticed that two additional engines were hosing down the roofs of the The Crescent at Cherry Creek apartments, across Cherry Street from the fire. The westerly wind was blowing the smoke directly at those apartment units. You could see steam rising from the roofs as a result. My fellow 4550 neighbors agreed we were very lucky that the wind was not coming from the south, or we would have been in trouble.”
Jamie added, “Hearing about the melted cars from The Crescent the next day drove that point home. The edge of our parking garage was probably the same distance from the flames. Fortunately the luck of the wind direction kept us out of danger.”
She did not realize there was a fire at first. When she did, she decided to walk out (approximately midnight) to the roof deck of her parking garage to investigate (and move her car if necessary). Approaching the railing she observed “flames were above the 5th floor deck.” She said it became evident that the fire was engulfing the adjacent apartment building which was still under construction.
She concluded by saying, “In my short time in Colorado, I’ve learned how quickly wind can affect a fire.” She also notes that in the future she “will certainly pay a little more attention to those random fire alarms in our building.”
The Greater Glendale Chamber of Commerce has issued a statement: “All of our residents and members of our business community can be assured that their businesses are safe and that with the exception of a street closure during the investigation, that business in Glendale is as usual.”
The ATF’s National Response Team composed of experts from across the country has taken over the third floor of the Glendale fire house indicating that arson was not originally ruled out as a possible cause of the fire.
MKS Residential, a California based real estate company, acquired the 5.4 acre site a year ago in order to build a 341-unit high end apartment complex featuring apartment layouts ranging from 572 to 1,335 square feet.
As part of the transaction the seller of the land demolished what remained of Spanish Gate Apartments which had stood empty for the decade since the 2003 fire. The property was then conveyed to the City of Glendale to be used as a parking lot for Infinity Park.
It is anticipated that MKS Residential will take insurance proceeds from the fire and begin building the apartment complex anew.