South Metro House Fire

Andrew Huang Photo ©

On September 18th, 2020 at 18:20 South Metro Fire Rescue & Franktown Fire Protection District were dispatched by MetCom to an unconfirmed residential structure fire in the 9200 block of Windhaven Dr. in unincorporated Douglas County. While en route, Franktown Fire Protection District Engine 184 advised that smoke was visible from their station which prompted Battalion 4 to upgrade the incident to a confirmed structure fire. Douglas County Sheriff’s Office arrived on scene and advise of a fully involved deck with flames from the roof of a house being remodeled. Engine 43 arrived on scene of a two-story home with a walkout basement and a working fire on the C side and pulled a 2.5” line for a transitional attack. Embers from the structure sparked a grass fire across the street creating a wildland component prompting a brush truck to be added to the call. Battalion 4 arrived on scene and assumed command of a fully involved structure, changed operations to a defensive strategy, and requested that Elizabeth Fire Rescue Engine 273 setup their deck gun on the A side. Engine 43 reported urgent traffic with structural collapse and loss of water pressure from their gravity fed hydrant on the scene prompting Engine 41 to perform forward hose lay from their staging location a block away. Multiple Blitzfire and hand lines were deployed for defensive operations. Tower 45 setup their aerial on the A side and began aerial operations on the structure which knocked down the bulk of the fire. The tower’s crew then used saws to gain access to the garage to extinguish spot fires and later extinguished remaining fire on the A side basement from their aerial. Fresh crews were brought in to rotate out the working crews and monitor the scene overnight. Residents of the house were not at home at the time, but unfortunately two dogs died in the fire.

Units on Scene:

South Metro: Battalion 4, District 1, Safety 35, Med 1, Ops 1, Engine 43, Tower 45, Medic 46, Engine 46, Engine 41, Engine 42, Brush 47, Rehab 12, PIO 11, Bureau 21 & Bureau 55

Overhaul Units: Engine 23 & Engine 40

Franktown Fire Protection District: Engine 184 & Medic 181

Elizabeth Fire Rescue: Engine 273

Douglas County Sheriff’s Office & Arapahoe Rescue Patrol