Couple Rescued From Monument Fire
Updated: May 30, 2008 04:24 PM
By SCOTT HARRISON
MONUMENT - Reports of an explosion preceded a fire at a home on the north side of Monument Friday morning. It started around 9:15 a.m.
at a home on Washington Street, across from the town dump. Two residents and their pets escaped without injury.
Steve Winkler, the caretaker of the dump, saw the fire and rescued the residents--a married couple--and possibly saved their lives because they may still have been sleeping. "The flames and smoke were thick enough that I didn't want to go in there. But I made sure that everybody was up. They were still in the house. When I got to the door, (the husband) got to the door, and he went in and yelled for his wife."
The fire apparently started in the rear of the home, but firefighters did not say whether the cause was a propane tank or other source. The deck and two rooms were destroyed, with smoke and water damage throughout the house. The house is located inside a storage lot for recreational vehicles. The couple are caretakers of the lot, and rent the home. The owner of the property declined to speak with NEWSCHANNEL 13 and refused to allow NEWSCHANNEL 13 to speak with the couple.
Winkler says he can relate to the couple's experience. "It happened to me, not long ago. My house caught fire. Electrical fire. Burned to the ground. I didn't have insurance."
Several area fire departments responded to the scene as a precaution because the area
Updated: May 30, 2008 04:24 PM
By SCOTT HARRISON
MONUMENT - Reports of an explosion preceded a fire at a home on the north side of Monument Friday morning. It started around 9:15 a.m.
at a home on Washington Street, across from the town dump. Two residents and their pets escaped without injury.
Steve Winkler, the caretaker of the dump, saw the fire and rescued the residents--a married couple--and possibly saved their lives because they may still have been sleeping. "The flames and smoke were thick enough that I didn't want to go in there. But I made sure that everybody was up. They were still in the house. When I got to the door, (the husband) got to the door, and he went in and yelled for his wife."
The fire apparently started in the rear of the home, but firefighters did not say whether the cause was a propane tank or other source. The deck and two rooms were destroyed, with smoke and water damage throughout the house. The house is located inside a storage lot for recreational vehicles. The couple are caretakers of the lot, and rent the home. The owner of the property declined to speak with NEWSCHANNEL 13 and refused to allow NEWSCHANNEL 13 to speak with the couple.
Winkler says he can relate to the couple's experience. "It happened to me, not long ago. My house caught fire. Electrical fire. Burned to the ground. I didn't have insurance."
Several area fire departments responded to the scene as a precaution because the area
