VIDEO: For Todd Williams, it was perhaps a moment of vindication — or at least, confirmation, that city buildings are safe and secure.
It started with an emergency alert to firefighters in the early morning of July 8. Crews were dispatched to a fire at Sand Creek Park. When they got there, the fire was already out.
"This was a save," Williams said. "This saved the city probably over $1.5 million."
The "save" came thanks to a trio of fire sprinklers installed along the park's main building. Fire crews later learned the fire started when a group threw away firework remains in a trash can next to a concession stand. The embers, still hot, smoldered for more than a half hour before eventually catching the liner of the trash on fire. From there, the size of the flames doubled nearly every minute.