ARAPAHOE COUNTY, Colo. — A second-alarm fire ended up damaging more than 40 storage units along S. Parker Road in unincorporated Arapahoe County.
South Metro Fire Rescue and the Parker Police Department responded to the fire at a Public Storage located at 5212 S. Parker Road, the fire department said on social media just before 8 p.m.
When crews arrived, they found a fire burning through the roof.
"There were heavy flames shooting through the roof of the building, and so they upgraded it right away to a commercial working structure fire, and hit it with a two and a half inch attack line," said Brian Willie, the public information officer for South Metro Fire.
Willie told Denver7 crew fighting the storage facility fire were faced with having to follow the fire as it moved through the facility.
"The problem was, is the fire had gotten into the attic of the storage unit, and was rolling through from unit to unit to unit," he said.
Crews were forced to cut through unit steel doors to try and extinguish the flames.
"Firefighters had to then cut down each door and chase that fire as the units, as a fire was going from unit to unit," Willie said.
The Arapahoe County Sheriff's Office closed northbound S. Parker Road at S. Chambers Road and E. Crestline Drive while firefighters worked to gain control of the fire. The road reopened around 10:30 p.m.
Around 8:30 p.m., South Metro Fire Rescue said the fire was under control and crews were starting the extensive mop up process.
In total, 32 units were directly affected by the fire and 48 total were impacted by smoke and water damage, South Metro Fire Rescue said.
No injuries were reported.
South Metro Fire officials said investigators deemed the cause 'undetermined'.
Insuring storage units: What to know
Storage units and their contents typically fall under homeowner's or renter's insurance. Denver7's Jason Gruenauer speaks with Carole Walker with the Rocky Mountain Insurance Association to learn more about the insurance implications, and what to do in the event of a loss of items, after Tuesday's Arvada fire. Watch their interview in the video player above.
