6 People Killed in Apartment Fire in Aurora

By Soyoung Kwak in News on May 15, 2011 4:00PM

At least six people were killed and about a dozen more were injured in an apartment fire that broke out in Aurora Sunday morning at 4:06 a.m. at a small apartment complex that housed 25 to 30 residents on 760 Claim Street. The fire broke out on the first floor of the building and then moved upwards to the floors above, but no cause of the fire has been determined.

When firefighters arrived at the scene, the apartment building was consumed by flames and that there was heavy smoke surrounding the area:

"When the units arrived on the scene, there was heavy fire. We had people that were rescued out of windows of the rear of the building. Crews were met with heavy fire coming from the first floor of the building, extending into the hallway and trapping residents in the floors above. Initial companies were able to remove approximately 10 people from the building. Of those people, we have confirmed six fatalities from this fire: three adults, two children and one infant," said Aurora Fire Department Chief John Lehman.

Lehman further stated that the fatalities occurred in two of the apartments where residents opened their front doors during the fire, causing the fire to spread through their apartments. The identities of the victims have not been determined as of this morning.