Hundreds of people will need to find new homes after an explosion at their apartment building in Aurora, Colorado, on Saturday injured at least three people, according to Aurora Fire Rescue.
Fire crews responded to the building along East Alameda Avenue after “reports of smoky conditions” on Saturday, the agency said on Twitter, and officials were “looking for hazards” when the explosion occurred.
Two people were taken to hospital with non-life threatening injuries. A third victim was taken to another hospital, but Aurora Fire Rescue did not release his condition.
The cause of the explosion is unknown.
“Heavy damage was caused as a result of an explosion on the west side of the structure,” Aurora fire officials said Saturday afternoon. As a result, authorities found “structural damage,” although officials were still working to determine the extent and severity of the damage.
In the meantime, between 300 and 400 residents will need to be relocated, according to Aurora Fire Rescue, such as Allyson Goodwin, who lived in the building with her fiance and their son. She told CNN affiliate KCNC that she was walking her dog across the street when the explosion hit the unit across the street from hers, destroying her family’s home and their belongings.
“I heard a really loud bang and I was like, ‘Don’t look back, don’t look back, just keep walking,'” Goodwin told the station. “Like, ‘You don’t want to see what just happened.'”
In the short term, the residents were taken to a local shelter with the help of the Red Cross, Aurora Fire Rescue said. “Long-term accommodation will be coordinated through (the Red Cross) based on need.”
Members of the community were asked to stay away from the building.
