Welcome to The Steamboat Springs Fire Department

by Tom Ross, Steamboat Pilot staff

Dawn Dwyer woke her boyfriend, Ben, and managed to grab her car keys and a gerbil named Zoe before fleeing her burning condominium early Saturday morning.

Dwyer was awakened by the fire alarm at Walton Village at about 3 a.m. No one was injured in the blaze, but the flames and water from firefighters' hoses destroyed nearly every unit in "Rho" building at the condominium complex.

Dwyer and Ben Saari were left to sort through their charred and water-soaked belongings during a persistent drizzle at midday. They have no renter's insurance. Their biggest loss was a 1-year-old Compaq Presario computer that Saari valued at $3,000. The young couple used the computer to do their Colorado Mountain College homework.

"I was pretty devastated," Dwyer said. "I did all the crying and everything else I could possibly do last night."

She and Saari lived in unit 7 of Rho building.

When Dwyer woke Saari, he said he rushed outside only to discover he was still in his boxer shorts. He ran back in and put on some pants, then came back outside to move his car. Dwyer's GMC Jimmy was left parked in front of the building, but wasn't damaged.

Their unit was not one of those closest to the east end of the building where the fire broke out. And when they first came outside, they said, their condo had not yet begun to burn. The other end of the building, however, was fully engulfed in flames.

Their first thought was of two friends who also lived in the building. The couple quickly spotted them in the parking lot and felt better.

After that reassurance, all Dwyer and Saari could do was watch as the flames raced through the attic toward their end of the building. When the roof trusses fell into their unit, their couch, bookshelf, coffee table and Lay-Z-Boy were all burned. Saari was hopeful his laser printer could be saved, but his computer was soaked with water and he was certain it was a goner.

Dwyer was most upset about the loss of personal photographs.

"We have a real close family," she said. "And all my photos of my nephews are soaking wet."

The Rossi family of Grand Junction was more fortunate than Dwyer and Saari. They own unit Rho 8, right next door, but Bob Rossi, his wife and two children don't live there. However, finding themselves between renters this month, they decided to make the drive to Steamboat for the weekend and camp out in the unfurnished condo.

Rossi said he had been informed that the fire alarms in the building had just been inspected the week before. It was the screaming sound of the alarms and people banging that woke him at 3 a.m. When he stepped outside, the blaze was so intense he could turn his back on the fire and still feel heat from the flames on his face as it reflected off the building across the parking lot.

"We're just happy to get out of there," Rossi said. "It was pretty darn incredible that just four units were (burned)."

Evacuated Residents Watch Building Burn