ARAPAHOE COUNTY, Colo. — A woman is recovering from the injuries she received after jumping from a third-story balcony to escape a deadly apartment fire early Saturday morning in the southeast Denver metro area.
It happened at the Ivy Crossing Apartment Homes on South Quebec Street in unincorporated Arapahoe County. One person was killed and five others were hurt, including three firefighters who suffered minor injuries.
Denver7 spoke with Abigail Jones, an Ivy Crossing tenant who has lived at the apartment complex with her sister and pets since October 2022. She said she had no choice but to jump from her three-story balcony as flames engulfed her apartment.
"I looked at the door and I saw black smoke entering our apartment," Jones said.
she said she woke up around 4 a.m. because she felt extremely warm and could smell smoke.
"I immediately saw smoke around me. I went into the hallway where our fire alarm was, and I looked directly up at it, and no sound was coming from it at all," she said.
Fire inspectors with South Metro Fire Rescue found multiple fire code violations at Ivy Crossing Apartments two months before Saturday’s deadly blaze, including a lack of manual fire alarms.
"You heard screaming, people crying for help. You could tell that there were people trapped inside the building," Jones said. "We lost everything. Our apartment was on the very top floor, and we lost everything."
As smoke filled the apartment, Jones and her sister made their way to the only escape route, the balcony. Both women jumped from three stories up.
"I went ahead and jumped. And my sister was still on the balcony with me. I was really scared. I just completely fell and hit the bush and then hit the floor really hard on my knees. And then after that, you could just see residents trying to help other residents get out of the building," she said. "I had to throw my dog. My sister had to throw her cat. And it was just, it was just awful."
Jones said another resident was able to help catch her dog, but their two cats are now missing. One of the cats was thrown from the balcony and the other cat had to be left inside.
"One was able to be thrown out but one I couldn't retrieve at the time. So we're hoping the other cat was able to get out," she said. "It's an orange tabby cat and the other one is white and gray."
Jones and her sister are now having to recover from the physical and emotional trauma. Jones suffered scratching and bruising and had to seek medical attention.
'"My body hurts. I took a shower last night and I cried the whole way. I have been coughing up black phlegm. Luckily, there's nothing wrong with my lungs or anything because I did get it checked out. But I still am very sore," she said. "I'm starting to notice today a lot more, just soreness and pain in my body."
Jones and her sister are temporarily staying at a relative's home while they figure out where they will move to next, saying they don't plan to return to Ivy Crossing Apartments.
They have launched a GoFundMe fundraiser to help raise money in their time of need.
Denver7 reached out to officials with South Metro Fire Rescue on Sunday who said the cause of the fire is still under investigation.
