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Beaver Village fire causes heavy damage to end units

Lance Maggart lmaggart@skyhinews.com

Fire fighters from Winter Park had a busy night Thursday, Jan. 12 when a condo fire at Beaver Village was ignited sometime around 5 p.m.

Chief Todd Holzwarth of the East Grand Fire Protection District (EGFPD) said fire investigators from various agencies and insurance companies are preparing to conduct a full investigation into what sparked the blaze next week. “We are pretty sure it started in the lower unit,” Holzwarth said. “But as far as where it started in the room, we won’t know until we get it there and start tearing it apart. It is extensively damaged.”

The fire caused heavy damage on a series of three condos within the larger Beaver Village complex. “The three end condos are heavily damaged as far as all the contents and the drywall,” Holzwarth said. “Structurally the building is not too bad. The decks on the back were damaged quit a bit.”

Holzwarth said the condos adjacent to the three end condos that burned experienced light smoke damage, little water damage, and no physical or structural damage. “Once you are outside of the three primary units things improve quickly,” Holzwarth said.

Of the three units that burned only one had an occupant at the time of the fire. The bottom condo, where officials believe the fire began, was a short-term rental. According to Holzwarth the bottom condo was rented out to guests Thursday, however those guests were not there at the time of the fire. “The second floor unit was a long term rental with a tenant in there,” Holzwarth said. “I believe that is the person who reported the fire.”

The top floor unit was also unoccupied Thursday night. A resident of Denver who does not live full time in Winter Park owns the unit. Holzwarth said there were multiple other residents in the rest of the Beaver Village complex who were evacuated by the Fraser/Winter Park Police Department (F/WPPD) and Grand County EMS as East Grand Fire worked to control the blaze.

When fire officials were first called to Beaver Village Condos in Winter Park the initial report was for a chimney fire. Chief Holzwarth said he was not sure what prompted the reporting party to believe it was a chimney fire but said, “as far as we can tell it had nothing to do with the fireplaces.”

Firefighters brought the Beaver Village fire under control at around 9 p.m. Jan. 12. Holzwarth said the fire was fully contained earlier in the evening but took until 9 p.m. to bring under full control as firefighters worked into the nooks and crannies of the building looking for hot spots and smoldering fire points.

The fire at Beaver Village was a significant event according to Holzwarth who added, “It burned hard there for a while. It was really cooking.” Holzwarth was very happy with the response of the firefighters from East Grand. “The gang worked their butts off. I think we were finally done with everything around 2:30 a.m.”

Multiple local agencies responded to the Beaver Village fire to assist the EGFPD including: the F/WPPD, Grand County EMS, the Grand County Sheriff’s Office and the Grand Fire Protection District. Holzwarth said Xcel Energy and Mountain Parks Electric also sent technicians to the scene to secure the gas and power for the building.


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