The Crested Butte News Serving the Gunnison Valley since 1999
Cause still under investigation
[ By Mark Reaman ]
A fire that originated in a garage brought out local emergency personnel Sunday evening in Crested Butte but in the end, no one was hurt and firefighters were able to quickly contain the spreading blaze. No cause of the fire has definitively been determined.
According to Crested Butte Fire Protection District fire chief Rob Weisbaum, an emergency call came in at 8:35 p.m. Sunday from the Adaptive Sports rental condo located at Eighth Street and Gothic Avenue. The first fire engine arrived at the scene by 8:42 and water was on the fire just two minutes later.
“When occupants recognized there was a fire in the garage, they attempted to extinguish it with the extinguishers with success,” Weisbaum explained. “At that moment, they began evacuations and had the awareness to move the vehicles out of the driveway prior to catching fire and making access for us upon our arrival. It appears as though the origin of the fire was from inside the garage. It quickly grew in size and extended to the exterior of the building to the upper deck and second floor exterior wall. Other adjacent units were evacuated.
“The first engine on the scene was able to achieve fire knockdown with the tank water (750 gallons) while water supply was being established,” Weisbaum continued. “As additional units arrived on scene, a primary search was conducted of the residence and cleared it quickly confirming no one was inside. Additional engines arrived on scene, gained access to the interior of the garage to continue the attack and suppress the fire. We cleared the adjacent condominium units, checked for any extension or toxic gases from the fire and ensured they were safe to occupy for the residents that night.”
Overall, Weisbaum said the firefighters responded quickly and the scene was under control within minutes of arriving at the condo. “The community can be proud of the work the team did,” he said. “Dedication to training, education and hard work has brought us a long way as we continue to grow as a department. We couldn’t be prouder of what we are providing to our community and team. We had a fantastic turn out of volunteers and staff for a total of 19 members on scene. We’d also like to thank Gunnison Paramedics for mutual aid support covering EMS in our district during the incident, Crested Butte Marshals, Mt. CB PD and Gunnison Dispatch. We greatly appreciate everyone’s response to the call.”
The scene was cleared by CBFPD around midnight and Weisbaum said the condo was turned over to property owners and the insurance company for the investigation for cause.
