Body cam shows officers evacuate residents from deadly fire

Arvada Fire investigators are working to determine the cause and origin of a fatal fire at the Village West Apartments on 58th Place early Wednesday morning.

The fire started just after midnight. One person was killed, and several others were injured, including two Arvada officers who went door to door trying to evacuate residents.

Officer Duffy was the first on the scene, and his body camera video shows the officers pounding on doors to help get residents out. He and a sergeant went to a local hospital for treatment of smoke inhalation and were later released.

“Thank God for the officer,” said Randall Harris. He and his roommates were able to get out in time.

“I didn’t know how serious the situation was until we opened the door and then the smoke started rolling into our apartment,” Harris said.

Other residents had to be evacuated by ladders.

“Due to the smoke conditions, there were residents that were out on the balcony, so firefighters quickly threw ladders and helped evacuate those people,” said Brady Johnson with Arvada Fire.

Adrienne and four of her children had to run down a smoky stairwell to get out of the building.

“The smoke damage is so severe that anything in our apartment is going to need to be destroyed,” she said.