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11 sent to hospitals after Denver hotel fire
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DENVER (Map, News) - At least 11 people have been taken to area hospitals after an early-morning fire at a Denver hotel Thursday.
The fire broke out about 1 a.m. at a Howard Johnson Inn. Authorities say the fire broke out in a stairwell and quickly filled nearby rooms and hallways with thick black smoke.
All of hotel's the rooms had to be evacuated, sending 32 people outside.
Hotel guest Spencer Rowell says he awoke to the smell of smoke in his room, and found the hallway filled with smoke when he opened the door.
He says he and many other guests went to their second-floor balconies to escape the smoke, but that a couple of guests dropped babies to people already on the ground.
Firefighters extinguished the blaze in about an hour.
The cause is unknown.
Copyright 2008 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.
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8:34 PM MST on Mon., Apr. 21, 2008 re: "Fire destroys most of 150-year-old hotel; resident arrested"
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8:30 PM MST on Mon., Apr. 21, 2008
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Examiner Reader said:
raging all around them. They all managed to escape. Some crawling out beneath the smoke, others jumping from the window because the flames of the fire was blocking their door exit to the outside hallway. Most did not have time to put their clothes on, escaping in only their boxers and bare feet, to the safety of the outside. They all were forced to watched in horror and disbelief, as all they owned went up in flames, totally helpless to do anything to stop it. Now it is all gone. Their possessions, the top two floors of the building, and their homes, The neighbors around the hotel immediately responded and banded together to help everyone they could, bringing out coffee, offering clothing, and shoes to the people with no clothes on at all to keep them warm as they waited and watched to see what could be salvaged. . I desperately want to help them! The truth of the matter is, I can not do this alone. These are the kind of people that may not have much materialistically to you and m
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Examiner Reader said:
My dads apartment building caught on fire, April 20, 2008 at 5:30 am. There were also 15 other lives affected by this tragedy, as well as the owners of the building. Everyone that lived above the Hometown Hotel in Wrightsville, PA, lost everything they owned because of someone else's reckless, irresponsible, behavior. Most of the residents living there do not have any family or friends whatsoever to help them get through this terrible time of need. A lot of the people lived there because of serious illnesses, and it is the only living quarters they can afford on the income they receive. They can not afford to rent an apartment on their own, as well as pay utilities, buy medicines, gas for doctor appointments, food, clothing, toiletries, and other miscellaneous items needed to survive. All of the belongings they had in their rooms were their lives. Sunday they woke up abruptly to a terrifying situation. A blanket of black smoke, to thick to see through or breathe in, with fire
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