Fire destroys home in Winter Park Highlands

A fire completely destroyed a home in the Winter Park Highlands on Saturday, Oct. 5.

The fire was first reported around 10 a.m., and Grand Fire Protection District (Granby Fire) responded to the fire, with East Grand Fire Protection and Hot Sulphur Springs Fire assisting.

The building is considered a total loss and the cause of the fire is still under investigation, according to Jim Cautrell, fire marshal for Granby Fire.

According to homeowner Susan Leviker, whose husband Edward tried to extinguish the fire when it first started, the fire came from the home’s propane furnace.

Edward Leviker built the home over a period of 30 years.

The family was relieved the neighbor homes were not affected, that no one was hurt in the fire, and lodgepole pines they’d kept alive for eight years on the home’s 8 acres were not impacted, Susan said.

She thanked the volunteer firefighters and their endeavors “to save our beloved home,” as well as supportive neighbors who have helped them in the days since.

Firefighters made every effort to save as much of the house as possible, Cautrell said, but the structure was deemed compromised, and firefighters were restricted to a defensive attack.

A defensive attack is used when it is unsafe for firefighters to fight the fire from the inside of the structure, limiting response to the outside of the building by hose.

The fire departments were on scene for longer than three hours, using close to 20,000 gallons of water to knock the fire down, according to East Grand Fire Chief Todd Holzwarth.

Reid Tulley can be reached at 970-887-3334