A southeast Aurora community is grappling with the loss of a family pet after a home caught fire Tuesday evening. According to Denver7, a neighbor saw smoke pouring from a two-story house near East Quincy Avenue and South Reservoir Road at around 5:30 p.m. and alerted authorities.
The Aurora Fire Rescue (AFR) swiftly responded to the scene, where firefighters discovered a kitchen ablaze with smoke clouding the entrance. Sadly, even after resuscitation attempts by the fire personnel, a dog was declared deceased from smoke inhalation, as confirmed in the initial responding agencies' reports. A companion cat, however, was located and saved from the inferno without any apparent harm, as reported by KDVR.
The blaze also affected the home’s human inhabitants, displacing three residents now receiving aid from the American Red Cross, as The Denver Post reports. Fire authorities later determined the cause of the tragedy was accidental, initiated from the kitchen, a noted high-risk area for domestic fires.
Aurora Fire Rescue detailed safety precautions following the incident, advising residents to "Stay in the kitchen while you are frying, boiling, grilling, or broiling food,” and, if needing to leave momentarily, to turn off the stove, as noted by KDVR. They further recommended using a timer as a cooking reminder and ensuring flammable materials are kept away from heat sources. The advice comes after statistics showed that, in 2022, nearly 178,600 cooking-related fires required fire department intervention in U.S. homes.
