Cherokee St. Garage Fire (January 10, 2010) |
DENVER, Colo. - A routine garage fire turned dangerous for Denver firefighters on Sunday when stored ammunition was set off by the heat and flames.
The fire broke out in a detached garage in the 2600 block of South Cherokee Street around 11:30 a.m.
Denver Fire spokesman Phil Champagne said the homeowner went to the garage to star her late model Maserati, and then went back inside. Several minutes later she heard an explosion.
When firefighters arrived on the scene, they first encountered intense flames and heavy smoke, and then started hearing crackling noises.
"Some ammo that had been stored in the garage started to activate," Champagne said. "It went off (and) struck a firefighter. Fortunately, since it didn't come out the barrel of a gun, it had very little velocity."
Homeowner Venita Wood says she didn't know the ammunition was there.
"My husband was a hunter and he passed away 6 ½ years ago, and I hadn't gone through everything," she told us.
The bullet hit firefighter Doug Manning in his chest, but didn't penetrate the skin.
"It basically hit me right here in the chest. I saw (the bullet) hit the ground," he said. He wasn't hurt, but he was concerned.
"It was really going off quite a bit, so we tried to clear the neighbors out of the area," he said.
"We retrieved the slug and luckily no one was hurt," Champagne said. The fire was extinguished in about 15 minutes.
2 cars and two motorcycles were destroyed in the fire and the garage sustained heavy damage. The cause is under investigation.
The fire broke out in a detached garage in the 2600 block of South Cherokee Street around 11:30 a.m.
Denver Fire spokesman Phil Champagne said the homeowner went to the garage to star her late model Maserati, and then went back inside. Several minutes later she heard an explosion.
When firefighters arrived on the scene, they first encountered intense flames and heavy smoke, and then started hearing crackling noises.
"Some ammo that had been stored in the garage started to activate," Champagne said. "It went off (and) struck a firefighter. Fortunately, since it didn't come out the barrel of a gun, it had very little velocity."
Homeowner Venita Wood says she didn't know the ammunition was there.
"My husband was a hunter and he passed away 6 ½ years ago, and I hadn't gone through everything," she told us.
The bullet hit firefighter Doug Manning in his chest, but didn't penetrate the skin.
"It basically hit me right here in the chest. I saw (the bullet) hit the ground," he said. He wasn't hurt, but he was concerned.
"It was really going off quite a bit, so we tried to clear the neighbors out of the area," he said.
"We retrieved the slug and luckily no one was hurt," Champagne said. The fire was extinguished in about 15 minutes.
2 cars and two motorcycles were destroyed in the fire and the garage sustained heavy damage. The cause is under investigation.
