VIDEO: A fire that broke out inside a vacant Colorado building in Lakewood early Monday morning is under investigation. West Metro Fire says several people were living inside the building and the fire department shared photos of what look liked scorched living spaces. The building near Colfax Avenue and Lamar Street is owned by Cyndie Shaffstall.
“I think the people have to go somewhere. You have to have a place to live, it’s an empty building,” she said. What happened, she says, is a tragedy. “It is truly heartbreaking. Plus, I don’t want someone living like that,” she said. Her building has been in closing for several years. With it being unable to rent, the property during that time, she says, sat vacant, and people started moving in.
“They had everything in there. They had cookstoves, they had heaters. They had clothing, they had ironing boards, they had closets set up and needles everywhere โฆ there were needles everywhere,” Shaffstall said, “There was a woman there who claimed to be the property manager and was charging rent to these homeless people. At the time, there were six bedrooms plus four offices and they were all rented.”
She says she’s been working to clear the building out for more than a year but that nothing lasts very long. “The police have been very good about doing what they can but there are so many people,” she said. In the last 6 months, 911 records show police have visited the property more than two dozen times. “Four to 6 months ago, I don’t know, someone died in there of an overdose. A few weeks ago there was a hostage situation in there,” she said. “Last week there was convicted felon holed up in there.”
An eviction and an attempt to cut off power to the building also failed to keep people from sheltering inside the building. “They had actually connected an extension cord to the overhead powerline, ” Shaffstall said. Despite all those efforts, early Monday morning a fire broke out destroying the building. Shaffstall says she’s not sure what the solution is but hopes someone takes a closer look at the issue before someone gets hurt.
